Electricity retailers will soon be required by the federal government to offer free electricity to households for at least three hours a day under what’s been dubbed the Solar Sharer Offer (SSO). [Read more…]

The growth in renewables including rooftop solar — and energy storage — continue to put downward pressure on wholesale electricity prices; even as the shift to electrification accelerates. Whether/when we’ll see that flow on to household electricity bills and by how much is another matter. [Read more…]

Electricity bills are set to surge by up to 9.7% for some Australians from July, according to the latest reference price details released by the Australian Energy Regulator, although most households will see smaller increases.

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The Federal Election has been called, and people are now banging on my door demanding I provide them with some deep analysis on the ‘nuclear debate’. They want to know what I think about Peter Dutton’s grand plan to build nuclear power stations across Australia.

Here’s what I think: I’m not wasting your time or mine.

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Self-described grassroots movement Nuclear for Australia is calling for policy makers to kick off a science-driven conversation about including nuclear power in Australia’s future energy mix. [Read more…]

Off-peak, ‘controlled load’ has traditionally been cheap electricity overnight, but these days, “over lunch” is the cheapest electricity ever. If you’ve got a hot water service, floor heating or a similar load, you can take advantage of this ridiculously cheap energy. Read on, and I’ll explain how.

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Victoria’s Premium Feed-in Tariff (PFiT), once offering a hefty 66 cents per kilowatt-hour for excess solar power generated by systems installed between late 2009 and the end of 2011, is coming to an end. [Read more…]

From July 1st, NSW, ACT, NT, and Victoria will start to slowly roll out two-way pricing, with others in the National Energy Market (NEM) set to join in next year. This new setup lets network companies charge electricity retailers for the energy that flows back to the grid during busy times. [Read more…]

As a solar installer, I’ve had to deal with electricity retailers a lot. So much so, that I sometimes wonder what I did in a past life to deserve this. In this post I’ll share my frustrations but also offer 3 solutions to get the better of the retailers and their increasingly incomprehensible tariffs.
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Just before Christmas, one of my best mates finished installing solar on his shed. Six weeks later his eagerly anticipated new electricity bill came.

He was mortified when he opened the envelope to reveal his bill had tripled; and was almost as surprised when I openly laughed at the nearly $4000 allegedly owing. [Read more…]