Tasnetworks / Aurora’s fairly new Boss Lance Balcombe launches the bad news via the media.
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 mate.
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. Than 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 off peak 7 pm ~7am! and then 14 cents to 21 cents for peak 7am ~7pm.
Whilst say 5 surrounding small business customers and pay 25 cents 25/7
If off peak period is 7pm ~7am Clearly then it should be off peak for all. To be “Reflective”
Then He 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 gold perhaps.
However such areas and as a whole would greatly benefit with more efficient heating for both water and home and led lights, and timers to shift use towards either soak up solar feed in or shift to cheaper off peak time frames etc , surely a better way to decrease loads.
I also note that ERM are intruding on the Local state owned 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 on pricing as low as 4 cents off peak and just 8 cents for peak!! To the suburban doors of a known local government client for one.
On this basis all the schools for another group 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 and Poles and Wires particularly returns.
This in turn must drive both small business and domestic users to soaring prices to cover the cost shortfall . Either that or higher fees and taxes and charges hidden elsewhere.
Naturally we would also need to grandfather T61/62 off peak customers on 12 cents rate for a decade to allow gradual upgrade to the super efficient heat pumps say.
The most popular heat pump in Tassie is cheaper to run than wood gas electric etc to service the typical 3 bedroom home and delivers up to 10 kw heat output.
Older models of this common 8 kw/10 kw output unit did use 2.86 kw maximum input, but now the latest version uses only 1.91 maximum that typically. One should run these 24/7 and see thus a 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 . perhaps $20 ~$35 extra ! Due to the highest efficiency to produce heat in Peak 7 am ~ 7 pm periods, due to the then higher ambient temperatures.
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.
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.
But in summary is the cost of replacing and or re-programming another burden like water meters have become and simply the cure is worse than the disease.
John Thirgood, Managing Director Jessups Solar Squad, Co-Ordinater Save Our Solar Tas .org Media Release
