As clocks go back one hour on April 5 across much of Australia, most households will simply enjoy an extra hour of sleep. But for some electricity customers on time-of-use plans, daylight saving can quietly eat into their hard-earned money if their usage isn’t timed just right. [Read more…]

Common sense says refineries process oil, not make it, so more Australian refining capacity would be useless in the current oil shortage.  But common sense isn’t always right.  Here’s how the federal government’s New Australian Refinery Plan, announced April 1, will help the nation power through the fuel crisis.

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Victoria will roll out its own version of “free daytime power” from October 1, becoming the latest state to introduce free electricity during the middle of the day. [Read more…]

Late last week, the Australian Energy Regulator went and shoved a Default Market Offer document onto the internet.  But don’t worry — that’s normal behaviour for an Energy Regulator around this time of year.  The important thing is, it came with information on the Solar Sharer Offer that will make 3 hours of free daytime electricity available in NSW, SA, and South East Queensland to anyone with a smart meter who wants it, from July 1.

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In response to a draft proposal from the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) for higher fixed network charges, new analysis projects that a flat fixed fee for energy bills could disproportionally raise bills for energy-efficient households, and largely wipe out the value of the federal battery rebate.

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New owners of solar energy systems are more likely to switch electricity service providers than the typical Australian household, according to a survey undertaken by Roy Morgan – with the trend even more pronounced for battery owners.

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For some months, there have been a bunch of complaints concerning the quality of customer support and billing services from Amber Electric. So, why has this happened? [Read more…]

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has again warned that millions of Australian households aren’t on the cheapest electricity plan; many effectively being slugged with a “loyalty penalty” by their current retailer. And the financial hit is significant. [Read more…]

The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) recently published its draft recommendations for a “smarter, fairer, lowest overall cost” electricity network, one that may involve higher fixed network charges. [Read more…]

Origin Energy has drawn the ire of the Australian Energy Regulator (AER), which alleges breaches of rules in relation to the retailer continuing to receive payments from Centrepay customers who had closed their accounts — paid in full. [Read more…]