{"id":21680,"date":"2018-05-30T14:31:48","date_gmt":"2018-05-30T04:01:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=21680"},"modified":"2021-02-10T13:05:44","modified_gmt":"2021-02-10T02:35:44","slug":"act-electricity-tariffs-solar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/act-electricity-tariffs-solar\/","title":{"rendered":"New Solar Homes Robbed Of Choice In ACT: Demand Or Time-of-Use Tariffs Only"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"rock

If you live in ACT and install solar – you are forced to choose between 2 not very great electricity tariffs.<\/p><\/div>\n

If you are getting a new house built or having solar power installed in the ACT I have some bad news.\u00a0 You will lose the ability to freely choose between electricity plans. You will no longer be able to select a standard tariff; which is usually best<\/a> for solar households.\u00a0 Instead you will be forced on to either a time-of-use tariff or a demand tariff.<\/p>\n

This article<\/a> in the Canberra Times from February says households can opt out if they wish. but last week we were contacted by a man in Canberra who told us he was not allowed to opt out.\u00a0 I called ActewAGL1<\/a><\/sup> on Friday and the person I spoke to said he knew of no way people could opt out and select a standard tariff if they have a smart meter installed.<\/p>\n

Evoenergy Changed The Rules<\/h2>\n

The change was made by the ACT’s Distributed Network Service Provider Evoenergy<\/a> that takes power from long distance transmission lines and distributes it to Canberra’s homes and businesses.\u00a0 They make the rules for connecting to the grid and the Australian Energy Regulator <\/a>has said they can stop people with smart meters using standard tariffs if they want.<\/p>\n

The lack of choice in electricity plans applies to anyone who gets a smart meter installed.\u00a0 This includes for newly built homes, but as Canberra’s population is only growing at around 1.5% a year<\/a>, the largest category of households getting smart meters are those who have new solar energy \u00a0systems installed.\u00a0 The annual rooftop solar installation rate in the ACT has averaged 1.7% over the past eight years and as installations have picked up it’s likely to now be over 2%.<\/p>\n

If your solar power system was installed more than six months ago, you probably don’t have a smart meter.\u00a0 While it will be digital it’s unlikely to be smart unless you specifically requested one.\u00a0 If you have a smart meter and are currently on a standard tariff then you appear to be safe for now but this may change in the future.<\/p>\n

If you install solar in Canberra<\/a> and are forced to choose between a time-of-use or demand tariff it is very difficult to say which is best.\u00a0 But I will give a weak recommendation by the end of the article.<\/p>\n

Opting Out Of Smart Meter Installation Can Be Expensive<\/h2>\n

Opting out of smart meter installation is a possibility and ActewAGL have a form on their site<\/a> for doing so.\u00a0 But this may result in you being hit with $440 a year in manual meter reading charges.\u00a0 So you are not really free to chose to forgo a smart meter and remain on a standard tariff.<\/p>\n

The Reason For The Change<\/h2>\n

The idea behind time-of-use and demand tariffs is to discourage electricity use during periods of high demand, which reduces the cost of operating the grid.\u00a0 But I thought people with smart meters would be encouraged to take them up with the carrot of competitive pricing rather than the big stick of not being given a choice.\u00a0 Given that the Australian Energy Market Commission<\/a>, which makes the rules relating to electricity supply, has made a big deal<\/a> out of putting “consumers in the driving seat<\/em>” and giving “opportunities for consumers to make informed choices about how they use energy<\/em>” I am surprised they allowed it2<\/a><\/sup>.\u00a0 You’d think given their past statements about how important choice is to consumers they’d resist consumers being stripped of it to their last drop of blood<\/a> and last erg of energy.<\/p>\n

The Three Tariff Types<\/h2>\n

The are generally three tariff types offered to Australian homes:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Standard tariffs:\u00a0 Also known as flat tariffs, these have a flat charge for every kilowatt-hour<\/a> used.\u00a0 They are the only type of tariff available to homes without smart meters.<\/li>\n
  2. Time-of-use tariffs:\u00a0 These require a smart meter and charge different rates for electricity depending on the time of day.<\/li>\n
  3. Demand tariffs:\u00a0 These also require smart meters and charge a fee based upon the maximum amount of power the household draws averaged over a half hour period.\u00a0 Their advantage is the per kilowatt-hour<\/a> charge for electricity is less than for a standard tariff.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I will give details of these three types of tariffs that ActewAGL provides.\u00a0 You are not limited to these and can use other retailer plans available in the ACT.\u00a0 But ActewAGL’s demand tariff is the only one I could find that’s currently available in Canberra.<\/p>\n

    Standard Tariffs<\/h2>\n

    Standard tariffs charge a flat rate for every kilowatt-hour of electricity used and are the only type available to people who don’t have smart meters.<\/p>\n

    They can vary between seasons.\u00a0 For example, in South Australia we are charged more for electricity used in summer.\u00a0 Also, your electricity plan may charge either more or less after you use a certain number of kilowatt-hours.<\/p>\n

    Here are the three standard tariffs ActewAGL offers in the ACT.\u00a0 The information is taken from their pricing brochure:<\/p>\n

    \"ACTew<\/p>\n

    The first plan has the lowest daily supply charge but the highest charge per kilowatt-hour, while the plans below have increasing supply charges and decreasing per kilowatt-hour charges.\u00a0 The typical Canberra household without solar power uses around 18 kilowatt-hours a day3<\/a><\/sup>.\u00a0 If you use less grid electricity than this you will be better off with the “Home” standard tariff and if you use this much or more you’ll be better off with “Home Saver”4<\/a><\/sup>.\u00a0 The “Home Saver +” plan is only for people who use way too much grid electricity and need to think about what they are doing with their lives.<\/p>\n

    Because solar households usually use less grid electricity than average they will generally be better off with the “Home” standard tariff — if they have that option.<\/p>\n

    Time-Of-Use Tariffs<\/h2>\n

    Time-of-use tariffs require smart meters because they record not only how much electricity is used, but also when.\u00a0 The charge per kilowatt-hour depends on whether it was used during an off-peak, shoulder, or peak period.\u00a0 This is ActweAGL’s time-of-use tariff:<\/p>\n

    \"Time<\/p>\n

    To make the times clearer I’ve rewritten them below.\u00a0 Note they are Australian Eastern Standard Time and don’t change with daylight savings:<\/p>\n