Power Misplaced

Tasnetworks / Aurora’s fairly new Boss Lance Balcombe launches the bad news via the media: ABC: Scrapping discounted energy tariff will not lead to higher household power bills, TasNetworks says

Did he consult with the Government first and they are staying to the side to allow the public furore aim at him first and await the consequences and soften / amend the situation as hero’s perhaps!

Get rid of T41/2 heating hot-water rate @15 cents kw and merge all onto T31 lights and power currently 25.02 cents a k.w. Reflective pricing he says to marry in with national standards .

Your boss’s via our state Government, the revolting people you serve will not stand for this Mr Balcombe!

Believe me we will be revolting on this, no question!

If we for some reason must change, Then let us change for a fairer more “Reflective” situation holistically.

A much fairer system meeting Mr Balcombe’s “Reflective “ pricing agenda, might be to see small business and domestic customers whom make up the biggest part of your data base and volumes , when the super big accounts are excluded.

Then other contested customers that are currently serviced by Aurora / Tasnetworks & NRM with known examples of billing account of only $25k annually pay as little as 8 cents or 12 cents for 7 pm ~7am off peak ! and 14 cents to 21 cents for peak 7am ~7pm. Whilst say some five surrounding small business customers pay the full 25 cents 25/7

If off peak period is 7pm ~7am then clearly then it should be off peak for all , To be “Reflective”

Mr Balcombe said that clearly the T41 /2 rate is subsidising the t31, 25 cent rate ! But is it when country wide 25 cents is similar or less than !

Then Mr Balcombe also had the nerve to state that peak demand is a problem if T31/42 floor, we the residents of Tasmania place undue demand on the network !

I thought we saw ended up paying 50% more for power over recent years to “Gold Plate “ the network at our expense and beyond expected peaks that experts said would never occur ! Albeit we have some pockets of peak demand to address like Kingston I believe. That saw no extra gold perhaps !

I also note that ERM are intruding on the Local retailers patch and under selling the power is one thing but delivering it technically through the national grid Bass-link high, then over our high voltage network and then over local poles and wires, plus then make a profit I suspect, and for as little as 4 cents off peak and just 8 cents for peak!!

What just 1 or 2 cents respectively for each sector of the supply chain ! As delivered to the local premises of a known local government facility.

On this basis all the schools for one can stop paying 25 cents and get the deal to put more precious money into tomorrow’s generation. However such outcomes will only undermine the state owned Tasnetworks Distribution , Poles and Wires particularly.

This in turn must drive both small business and domestic users to soaring prices to cover the cost . Either that or higher fees and charges hidden elsewhere !

Naturally we would also need to grandfather T61/2 off peak customers on 12 cents rate for say a decade to allow gradual upgrade to heat pumps.

The most popular heat pump make in Tassie recently seen as holding over 50% market share by itself, is cheaper to run than wood gas electric etc to service the typical 3 bedroom home and delivers up to 10 kw heat output yet did use 2.86 kw maximum input power just 4 years ago, but now only 1.91 maximum that typically one runs 24/7 and per winter quarter cost typically $230~250 . Under my proposal the day running efficiency levels in peak 7am~7pm may only place some small extra running cost per quarter .

Over all small business and residential customers would then better manage their power usage away from peak day use where appliance costs per kw would be higher and move to use off peak 7am ~7Pm times frames accordingly.

A program of replacing polluting wood heaters and sundry power hungry electric, gas and oil heaters, could see a program of say 2% interest loans over 5 years to allow energy cost savings to facilitate lowering peak load, plus making essential home heating in Tasmania affordable.

Also my mooted proposal of true “Reflective” pricing would assist Solar power grid connect customers not grandfathers post grandfathered as no longer would we feed in excess on T31 for the rip off 5.5 cents plus gst and immediately buy our own power back for 15 cents on T41 !!
John Thirgood Managing Director Jessups Solar Squad Co-Ordinater Save Our Solar Tas .org