Off Peak Electricity Rates

[multiweb]

I have been looking at my power consumption for a few months now and bottomed up on what I can live with given I work from home. Looks like 19kWh to 21kWh is the ball park.

My supplier is EnergyAustralia, distributor being Integral Energy who's parent company is Origin.

I've been on a single energy rate for the past 15yrs or so no off peak rates for me. I'm enquiring about changing three meters to new ones.

The current rate is 21.85c/kW for the first 1750kW then 24.19c over which is not bad at all if you compare rates around but the offpeak rates are as low as 7.28c/kW. When I rang various places they keep telling me the offpeak are for hotwater systems.

Does this mean they would only apply to people running an electric water tank? I'd be interested to see if any of you guys in a similar situation upgraded their meters and if it made a significant difference in the long run?

After the carbon tax prices are expected to jump 16% to 20% (according to Energy Australia) after July 2012. I don't know if it's a conservative figure but that's from the horse's mouth. That's pretty significant for me as I'm looking at a $1k bill a quarter sooner or later. My current bills have gone up real quick, I have used a lot less power (probably halved it) and no aircon for a while. I'm dreading the pinch when the hot days will come back and trying to see if there's room for improvement.

Thanks for any feedback. :thumbsup:

[traveller]

Hi Marc, AFAIK, off peak electricity is only for people with electric hotwater systems. My mate just changed his energy guzzler (heating his pool, in Melbourne :eyepop:) HWS to a gas one, so he is no longer eligible for off peak rates. Two things you might want to look into:
1. Install a small solar electricity system. I know the buy back is the same rate as the buy in rate, but it does allow you to access the off peak rates (at least in Vic. Off peak in Vic is all weekend and after 11pm- 7am weekdays). The other "plus" is that you can get a 1.5kw system for less than $2 grand now (you will have to calculate the payback time of course).
2. Install a small electric HWS for the ensuite/bathroom/kitche. MAYBE this will allow you to access off peak rates. I dont know how much a small HWS would cost, plus the fee for installation, but if its around the $1500 mark, then the solar system might be more worthwhile.

HTH,
Bo

[multiweb]

I already have a gas HWS. Most of my neighbours and people in the area have solar panels. Might have to look into this but they're pretty expensive and I'm a bit worried about possible leaks in the roof. Are they anchored through the tiles?

[traveller]

I used this company (http://www.solargain.com.au/solar-energy-packages-and-pricing-newcastle)for my solar installtion, I found them to be very professional and they stuck to their quote. They are a little bit more expensive than others, but you get what you pay for as with most things in life.
I am not affliated with them BTW.
Dont worry about leakage. they cut away tiles, anchored the rails to the roof truss, then overlay the lot with flashing etc. I have mine for 2 years now and no probs in the Melbourne rain.
As I said, the things to keep in mind is the inital outlay, the cost of buy in, the hours for off peak, so you can calculate the payback time.
You also need to change a few routines (e.g. washing clothes and run appliances during off peak times).
Good luck.
Bo

[strongmanmike]

Well...you can estimate any assistance you qualify for to cover any increases like this, here: http://www.cleanenergyfuture.gov.au/

:)

[tlgerdes]

Hi Marc,

What you are referring to is not so much off-peak in the old sense, but time-of-day metering.

We have 3 rates, Peak, Shoulder and Off-Peak with different rate for each category.

Peak = 2pm-8pm
Off-peak = 10pm-7am
Shoulder all other times

Weekends and public holidays are either shoulder or offpeak.

http://www.energyaustralia.com.au/nsw/residential/products_and_services/electricity/powersmart_home/what_is_powersmart_home

Happy to compare bills offline.

[multiweb]

Who's your distributor? This is valid for Energy Australia network. I'm on Integral Energy network billed by Energy Australia.

[tlgerdes]

We get our bill through EA, there PowerSmartHome product. We are on Ausgrid network (old EA).

Under the new system, price is the same across the state for EA regardless of who your distributor is. Thats what all the who-ha was distributors seperated from retailers.

We get our Gas and Elec on the one bill.

[multiweb]

Me too - one bill. Definitely will look into it. Thanks. :thumbsup:

[Baddad]

Hi Marc,

In Qld it is no longer legal to buy and install an electric hot water system.
I don't know about your state.
I have a sneaky suspicion that the off peak system of cheap power will become a thing of the past. It is a logical conclusion. Also solar power companies have it in their propaganda.

If you go for a solar photovoltaic (PV) system, make sure that you do your research. Cheap systems use plate glass that is not as strong as tempered glass. They also can become clouded, decreasing incident light onto the silicon.
Use the SMA inverter, German. (Sunny Boy) The Chinese PV panels are made to German specs or are assembled in China. They are of good quality. Modern Solar Group is a reputable dealer and installer.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

[Exfso]

Gee Marc, your electricity rates over there are very good, around 7c/kwh cheaper than here in Adelaide (27.15 for 1st 1200kwh/yr then 27.67 for the next 2800/yr, and after that it is up to around 31c/kwh) this is the winter rate, in summer it is a couple of cents higher again), but that is one of the things we have to put up with here, ie getting right royal shafted for electricity. I put up a thread recently on this.

[multiweb]

I always had gas HWS. I just can imagine how bad it would be to have an electrical one. I agree about the rates. That won't last for ever but in the immediate that's a logical step for me.


I talked to few people and did some research. It just doesn't add up in the long run and I'll be out of pocket. The buy back I believe is 2 to 1 until July then 1 to 1. A 5kWh installation is around $10k, I average 20kWh. It's not going to work. I just have to be smarter about my power usage and cut down to what's necessary.


I think some major rethinking on how power is produced and distributed in Oz is going to be done at some stage in the near future. If costs rise 60% as predicted in the next 5 years there is no way people will be able to afford the basics as this will impact right down to the whole food chain.

[Exfso]

In todays Adelaide Advertiser, we are being told that the cost of Electricity is rising in Adelaide on average $360 next year, that is bloody outrageous. We are the highest taxed state in Australia. Where will it end. People are defaulting on their power bills now, this should send a lot over the edge I reckon. It is all greed on the part of both retailers and governments alike in my opinion. Marc, sorry I am slightly off track here, but it makes my blood boil....:mad2:

[multiweb]

Hey Peter, I was on the phone with Origin yesterday and had a chat with a very helpful lady who worked previously for Integral Energy, Energy Australia and a few others. She told me that the rates should be fixed by the governement and not vary from one supplier to the other but when I checked on iselect or switchwise I saw some big differences.

I'm in the process of going through every appliances in the house. I got a power meter from Jaycar and measured a few thing in the house and did a bit of reading online as well.

So far I figured that the ducted aircon although off still drew 200W. Apparently there's a built-in heater that kicks in now and then to keep the compressor warm in case of restart. So switched that off at the box. They say to put the power back on at least 12h before starting the unit to avoid cold start damages. Will do that next summer.

Going around inside the house I have also figured out that a lot of my daily consumption was chewed up by devices on standby, especially TVs, bluray, DVD players etc... I estimated approx. 2.61kW per day out on the whole lot.

Freezer and Fridge are the biggest culprit also as they run 24/7 and are both 15yrs old so I might save in buying new ones if they're more energy efficient. My fridge is averaging 250W and Freezer 138W. That's instantaneous reading. I'll need to get more points over the week-end to have an accurate kWh figure.

I haven't got around the lights yet and I'm still monitoring so I'll have a clearer pictures in a week or two. But the lights are not on all the time.

Gas heaters chew bugger all. 23W running and 3.6W on stand by. We're really lucky to have gas, especially for hot water but I reckon eventually gas rates will rise up to electricity. It's like that overseas.

[mithrandir]

Marty, does that mean a solar hot water system can not have an electric booster? We've had that for about 12 years with an off-peak connection.

If you are forced to switch and live in an area with no piped gas (like we do) will you get any subsidy for the higher cost of bottled gas?

Starts doing the math on 50 m2 of solar panels.

[tlgerdes]

You can get solar with an electric boost, you just cant get a full electric system "element" based system. If you want an electric only system, you can buy a heat pump model.