Outrageous Electricity rise

[Exfso (Peter)]

Here we go again in SA, just been notified we are getting another 18% rise in the cost of electricity from 1 July also 17.5% increase in gas. WTF is going on here. That corresponds from what the media have said to a 60% increase in the cost of electricity in the last 2 years, yet the wholesale price is supposed to have dropped markedly. Are we being shafted or what??

[astronut (John)]

Peter,
I could say a lot....but I don't want to start a war!!

[cventer]

Love to know where all this price rise is from. Is it costing more to get coal to power stations than it did before ?

[casstony]

Sounds like much the same as Victoria; electricity privatisation = bigger bills and less jobs.

[koputai (Jason)]

Same deal here in NSW, 18% rise coming soon.

We recently had a smart meter installed, so we now have three rates throughout the day. Our peak (2pm - 7pm weekdays) will soon be 50 cents/kwh.

I've begun putting what I can on timers so they don't run in peak times, and preferably so they run during the off-peak period (10pm - 7am) which will be costing around 10 cents/kwh.

We have a neighbour who leaves about 500 watts worth of indoors lights, plus a large plasma TV on 24 hours/day. I don't know how he manages to pay for his electricity wastage!

Cheers,
Jason.

[pgc hunter]

Same thing here, all thanks to John Crumby and his desalination plant. Never will rain again will it? Can't even walk my dog because I'll sink knee-deep in the freaking mud. Idiot Ofcourse, let's not forget the carbon dioxide tax that will be foisted on us. Watch the prices skyrocket.

[swannies1983 (Dan)]

Yep, won't that make electricity in SA the most expensive in the world?

[leon]

Yep, it is outrageous, about time they got rid of that red head,

Leon

[mswhin63 (Malcolm)]

I think this can open a can of worms but the electricity supply has been subsidised for too long and now that alternative energy sources are on the rise and requested by industry. This has lead to rises in prices to maintain equity in the market as well as competition especially when other energy sources are being sought.

I idea which I agree with is that there needs to be a standard set to allow for the price parity with new sources of energy so that more market is created for products like solar, geothermal and other technologies. The cost is increasing coal powered prices to remove subsidies.

I don't like it either but it is the natural course of action needed. I do hope that we don't lead down the path of petrol with greedy businesses pushing prices up. Personally as well I feel no essential services should never be able to be listed on the stock exchange either. This drives prices up as well.

[multiweb (Marc)]

Originally Posted by cventer

Love to know where all this price rise is from. Is it costing more to get coal to power stations than it did before ?

Yes this was scheduled as July 1st which is when the carbon tax kicks in. All rates will rise between 16% and sometime over 20% on your bill. I believe it's applied directly to the rates so before GST but I'm not sure about service availability fees and others but it's fair to estimate your next bill at x1.2.

I doubt the rates will go down ever again now it's in place though. The thing is that this is going to affect a lot more products and services. Refrigerated foods come to mind, Wollies/Coles, etc...

[Poita (Peter)]

Originally Posted by leon

Yep, it is outrageous, about time they got rid of that red head,

Leon

I'm not sure that the SA price rises have a lot to do with the Federal Government, it is privatisation that seems to be the main issue down there.

[mswhin63 (Malcolm)]

Originally Posted by Poita

I'm not sure that the SA price rises have a lot to do with the Federal Government, it is privatisation that seems to be the main issue down there.

Privatisation is key to all this, as subsidies are in breach of ACCC regulations. I think the ACCC has given some time to make things equitable though.

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

Yep welcome to New Zealand ?? they used us over there as guinnea pigs to see how much profit they can squeeze out of us , by privatising every thing , and now its slowely creeping over here ,, Greedy PIGS !!!!
Sorry but if NZ was any thing to go by its only gonna get worse !! .
Brian.

[traveller (Bo)]

here we go, again

[brian nordstrom (As avatar)]

I hear you Bo , but people have had enough of this price gouging thats starting to become an every day occurance ..On every thing ..
Brian.

[Exfso (Peter)]

It has all turned to crap since privatisation, that is for sure and we are all well and truly screwed, that is for sure. I dont know how pensioners and the like are coping, the mind boggles. How one can justify such ridiculous rises when the wholesale price of electricity is dropping is beyond my comprehension. It reeks of greed I reckon. I would love to have shares in AGL or similar, would be laughing I would say.

[Exfso (Peter)]

Hey Bo, do you like paying a fortune for electricity mate?

[BPO]

Originally Posted by koputai

We have a neighbour who leaves about 500 watts worth of indoors lights, plus a large plasma TV on 24 hours/day. I don't know how he manages to pay for his electricity wastage!

I was going to say that maybe this could have the silver lining of causing more people to use fewer lights, but then I remembered how massive increases in the price of cigarettes, alcohol and fuel didn't reduce consumption there.

Originally Posted by brian nordstrom

Yep welcome to New Zealand ?? they used us over there as guinnea pigs to see how much profit they can squeeze out of us , by privatising every thing , and now its slowely creeping over here ,, Greedy PIGS !!!!
Sorry but if NZ was any thing to go by its only gonna get worse !! .
Brian.

Until the beginning of 2011 I was employed by NZ electricity generators, and I can tell you the only thing costing them more was the ever increasing number of office staff. They implemented a moratorium on hiring technical people - engineers, electricians, mechanical fitters, etc - yet at least quadrupled - at least - the number of admin positions, with no end in sight. That's the reason for their rising costs - the massive increase in utterly worthless admin people - but the main reason for increasing prices for consumers was simply profit(eering).

[Astro_Bot]

One of the problems might be that before privatisation, electricity infrastructure was State-funded and only partly recouped via consumer electricity charges. Since privatisation, the main (probably only) source of funds is the price. The rise in prices might not be simple profiteering. If capital investment (which may include upkeep and refurbishment of existing assets) was underfunded in the past when under State management, then the only way to fund that investment now is to increase electricity prices.

I'm sure there is some profiteering going on as well (isn't there always) but it may be more complicated than it looks. We'd have to see the balance sheets for the last few years to make an informed judgement.

[koputai (Jason)]

Yes, it's bad that prices are going up, of course.

BUT, there is something everyone can do about it........

Use less electricity! Australians are very wasteful, not only of electricity, but water, food, their inteligence, other people's money.....

If you want a smaller power bill, be more sensible about your usage.

Cheers,
Jason.