Update July 30th 2022: The 3 cent DEBs feed-in tariff was reduced to 2.5 cents on July 1st 2022.  The 10 cent rate from 3 pm to 9 pm remains the same.

From yesterday (31 August 2020), new residential solar power systems installed in Western Australia will no longer receive the REBS or ‘Renewable Energy Buyback Scheme’ solar feed-in tariff of 7.135 cents per kilowatt-hour.  Instead, it will receive the DEBS or ‘Distributed Energy Buyback Scheme’ that will instead pay: [Read more…]

COVID-19 has contributed to wholesale electricity prices cuts, which should be reflected in your power bills from July.

The coronavirus has killed more than 340,000 people worldwide and taken a big bite out of economic activity.  Fortunately, Australia’s death toll has been low thanks to the effective response from medical professionals.

While we’ve gotten off lightly with regard to lives lost, there has been a sizable economic downturn.  This has caused wholesale electricity prices to drop, which you should see reflected your bills from July.  Unless you’re in Western Australia. [Read more…]

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Energy Council has issued a consultation paper designed to inform the NEM’s transition to a two-sided market. [Read more…]

If you expect your energy retailer to send you any money they owe you without you asking for it, you may be disappointed.

A reader’s email last week led me down too many rabbit holes, but I think it was worth it. The reader asked us to look into how electricity companies handle refunds of customer credits accumulated under solar feed-in tariffs (FiTs). Can customers get credit refunds automatically, and what happens to credits at the end of a contract? [Read more…]

Victorians can get $50 from the Victorian Energy Compare website until the 30th of June 2020 because they’d rather waste money on bribes than allow real competition.

If you live in Victoria and have an electricity or gas account in your name, you can get $50 from the Victorian Government.  Why are they handing out $50 to every household that asks for it? [Read more…]

Introducing Solarquotes New Retail Electricity Plan Comparison Tool:  It Will Pay For Pizza!

I’m paying way too much for electricity.  It’s driving me broke!  Financially I was doing okay until I told everyone I’d buy them pizza and it end up costing me $90.  How can pizza cost $90?  It’s dough, tomato sauce, ham, pineapple, and maybe some corn if you’re Japanese.  How can that be $90?  We only had four of them! [Read more…]

Electricity Prices To Fall Thanks To Wind And Solar Power — But Not In WA!

If you don’t live in Western Australia I have good news.  A report released on December the 9th by the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) says electricity prices will fall in all states except WA.

[Read more…]

The cheapest electricity plans for 6.5kW solar owners (with median self-consumption) are Amaysim, Origin, and Energy Australia.

The three most populous states — and South Australia — all have electricity retailer choice.  This gives people the freedom to choose the electricity plan that’s best for them, while electricity retailers do their best to stop that from happening. [Read more…]

Beware Of Salespeople Making Ridiculous Electricity Price Increase Predictions

A rooftop solar power system is an excellent investment for any home that isn’t at the bottom of a well or otherwise suffering from major shade problems.  Earlier this year I wrote an article on payback times in Australian capitals but it’s already out of date as they pay themselves off even faster now.  [Read more…]

Shock Horror! Australian Electricity Retailer Does Dodgy Stuff!

On Friday I was sitting at home staring at a computer screen, as is my habit on beautiful spring days, when there was a knock on my door.  I wasn’t expecting anyone so I called out “Cho-to ma-te!”¹ so I could pretend not to speak English if it turned out to be the police.  When I opened the door I saw it was a salesperson from the energy retailer Alinta. [Read more…]