Wholesale electricity spot prices in the two Australian states with the most renewable energy generation — South Australia and Tasmania — are the lowest in the nation and have been for years.  This is good news for anyone who prefers clean energy over dirty. That is everyone who isn’t evil, an idiot, or both. [Read more…]

SA homes are not required to have a time-of-use retail electricity tariff when getting solar

Last week I heard from a South Australian concerned they’d be forced onto a time-of-use tariff after installing solar panels. 

Since this was at the start of the new financial year, my initial response was, “Oh god!  What are the electricity retailers doing now?”

[Read more…]

New aircon energy rating labels! Are you excited? You should be…

The most energy-efficient and cost-effective way to heat your home is to use your reverse-cycle air conditioner.  Even the least efficient aircon uses far less energy than electric resistance heating.  But buying the least efficient air conditioner is a bad idea.  You’ll be better off with a highly efficient one — or at least the most efficient one that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. [Read more…]

Texas provides a great example of how not to treat electricity consumers during a heatwave.

Last week Texas suffered through a stinking hot heatwave.

And just like the polar vortex five months ago, we saw an excellent example of villainous electricity retailer behaviour we must never allow in Australia. [Read more…]

Do you live in regional Queensland?  Do you think your only choice of electricity retailer is Ergon Energy? Then I have exciting news for you.  You can choose who bills you for electricity. [Read more…]

Finally, it’s official – DNSPs must offer a standard tariff to Victorian solar owners.

I have just read the Australian Energy Regulator’s FINAL DECISION Statement on Victorian Energy Distribution for 2021-2026.  According to the document, Victorian electricity distributors will be required to: [Read more…]

Thousands of Texans caught in a deadly, polar vortex blizzard have been charged thousands of dollars for electricity over just a few days. They were exposed to wholesale electricity prices that hit their maximum price of over $11 Australian per kilowatt-hour. [Read more…]

To understand why solar feed-in tariffs are comparatively low, you need to understand how your electricity bill sausage is made. Image credit

In this article, I am going to take a typical electricity bill and break it down into its components. 

I told Finn I was doing this for two sensible reasons:

1. To let people know where their electricity dollar goes.
2. To show where solar feed-in tariffs come from and why they are significantly less than electricity’s retail price.

But the main reason is I hate electricity bills and enjoy breaking them into pieces. [Read more…]

Click Energy provides high feed-in tariffs — If your inverter is 5kW or less.

If you:

• want a high solar feed-in tariff.
• have a solar inverter 5 kilowatts or less.
• have low grid electricity consumption 

…then Click Energy may be the best choice of electricity retailer to minimize your electricity bills (or maximize credit received). [Read more…]

Late last month Tesla, in partnership with electricity retailer Octopus Energy, announced a new Virtual Power Plant (VPP) in the UK. Interestingly, Tesla’s UK VPP is a much simpler proposition than Tesla’s Australian VPP. [Read more…]