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Can you elaborate on the higher elec prices for the benefit of those of us not in Aus? Is that because of the smart meter requirement?
by bruce511 3mo ago
Can you elaborate on the higher elec prices for the benefit of those of us not in Aus? Is that because of the smart meter requirement?
- kaelwd 3mo agoBefore: 25c/kwh all day After: 30c/kwh most of the day, 0c from 11-2 It's still worth it if you have a lot of load you can shift to the middle of the day (like a pool heater or battery), but for most 9-5 workers you just end up paying more at the times you're actually home. Smart meters are free, most people already have one.
- strken 3mo agoI thought most Australians had different pricing for peak/off-peak. I'm paying 39c/kWh for peak (3pm to 9pm) and 20c/kWh for off-peak (9pm to 3pm the next day).
- AtlasBarfed 3mo agoGet a battery
- kaelwd 3mo ago45% of us either rent or live in apartments.
- bruce511 3mo agoSure, a battery isn't available to everyone. But I is available for many. One would have to do the math, cost of battery versus 24kw free daily. But clearly for lots of people the math will work. A side effect of policies like this is effectively getting people to invest capital to time-shift elec usage. That's good policy. Reducing the peaks in consumption solves other problems.
- tw1984 3mo ago> A side effect of policies like this is effectively getting people to invest capital to time-shift elec usage. this means you don't have a functioning government/political system.
- AtlasBarfed 3mo agoStrange anticapitalist stance for hackernews
- moooo99 3mo agoI know, this doesn't really address the core issue, but is stuff like balcony solar legal in Australia? Here in Germany, it is absolutely massive and an increasing number of people run their balcony solar with batteries that just feed into a regular Schuko Plug. It only allows to feed in 800W at a time, but there are workarounds for that as well
- bruce511 3mo agoAhh, so the 30c rate is locked in for everyone? So they've basically price-shifted the elec so it follows production cost better? Even if you're not home I'm thinking there are a number of ways to make use of the free elec. Hot water geyser seems like the obvious first candidate. I'd also think heating (in winter), cooling in summer. Even if you're not there in those times, the effects will be evident for many hours after. For those who have programmable washer/dryers or dishwashers it's also good. Even ovens on occasion. I get that not everyone is best placed to take advantage of this, but equally improvements don't have to be an "everyone or no one" option.
- kaelwd 3mo agoNo it's optional, the retailers just have to offer it.
- ZeroGravitas 3mo agoThe utilities don't really want to sell you the cheap solar. They'd rather write op-eds about how too much solar is flooding the grid and beg for more money to invest in the grid elements they can make money from. The government is having to force them to reflect the abundance of cheap, clean energy at these times in at least one of their tariff offerings. They can bend the rules slightly by adding other daily charges or limitations and upping the price at other times to reduce uptake and move us all slightly further from the global optimum but maximize their profits.