Can you elaborate on the higher elec prices for the benefit of those of us not in Aus? Is that because of the smart meter requirement?

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ZeroGravitas an hour ago | parent | next [-]

The utilities don't really want to sell you the cheap solar. They'd rather write op-eds about how too much solar is flooding the grid and beg for more money to invest in the grid elements they can make money from.

The government is having to force them to reflect the abundance of cheap, clean energy at these times in at least one of their tariff offerings.

They can bend the rules slightly by adding other daily charges or limitations and upping the price at other times to reduce uptake and move us all slightly further from the global optimum but maximize their profits.

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kaelwd 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Before: 25c/kwh all day

After: 30c/kwh most of the day, 0c from 11-2

It's still worth it if you have a lot of load you can shift to the middle of the day (like a pool heater or battery), but for most 9-5 workers you just end up paying more at the times you're actually home.

Smart meters are free, most people already have one.

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bruce511 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Ahh, so the 30c rate is locked in for everyone? So they've basically price-shifted the elec so it follows production cost better?

Even if you're not home I'm thinking there are a number of ways to make use of the free elec. Hot water geyser seems like the obvious first candidate.

I'd also think heating (in winter), cooling in summer. Even if you're not there in those times, the effects will be evident for many hours after.

For those who have programmable washer/dryers or dishwashers it's also good. Even ovens on occasion.

I get that not everyone is best placed to take advantage of this, but equally improvements don't have to be an "everyone or no one" option.

	▲	kaelwd 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		No it's optional, the retailers just have to offer it.

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strken 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I thought most Australians had different pricing for peak/off-peak. I'm paying 39c/kWh for peak (3pm to 9pm) and 20c/kWh for off-peak (9pm to 3pm the next day).

	▲	kaelwd 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Yeah just a simplified example, I pay 33/16/10 peak/off-peak/midday.

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AtlasBarfed 4 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Get a battery

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kaelwd 4 hours ago | parent [-]

45% of us either rent or live in apartments.

	▲	bruce511 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Sure, a battery isn't available to everyone. But I is available for many. One would have to do the math, cost of battery versus 24kw free daily. But clearly for lots of people the math will work. A side effect of policies like this is effectively getting people to invest capital to time-shift elec usage. That's good policy. Reducing the peaks in consumption solves other problems.