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Anyone surprised?
Anyone surprised?This can't be good for the ALP leading up to the election.
Maybe it wasn't a good idea to put a dollar figure on price reductions prior to the last election.
View attachment 195232
Electricity bills will rise by as much as 9 per cent from July 1, the Australian Energy Regulator has declared, a draft ruling that will intensify pressure on struggling households and threaten the re-election prospects of the Albanese government.
The AER said increases will vary across the National Electricity Market, but the largest jump will be seen in NSW, where prices are set to rise by up to 9 per cent. Increases are smaller in Queensland and South Australia, but prices will rise by between 3 per cent and 6 per cent.
Prices in Victoria are governed by a separate regulator, which earlier ruled prices will largely remain unchanged.
Small business customers face prices increases of between 4.2 per cent and 8.2 per cent.
The energy regulator said the increases were driven by higher costs of producing electricity and network costs, which the AER said had jumped by between 2 per cant and 12 per cent.
Bill shock is going to be a huge problem for the elderly,when the taxpayer funded electricity subsidies stop, but it wont happen before the election so enjoy it while you can.Anyone surprised?
Not even slightly.Anyone surprised?
Do not forget taxes/fees/mandatory fees paperwork which already apply to the whole economyNot even slightly.
But I'll tell you one thing with absolute certainty - coal, gas, hydro, oil, nuclear, wind, solar, tidal, geothermal or burnt chicken poo. None of those will fix it, because the means of generation is only a minority of the problem.
The political and public debate about all this is akin to the child who's "looking" for something without wanting to find it. They know exactly where it is, and are thus "looking" everywhere else.
The real problem comes down to huge administrative overheads along with intentionally inefficient operation in the name of ideology.
To put some figures out there, and I'll intentionally not state what company these are for, the breakdown of the price charged to small consumers (households, small business) is:
Generation = 39%
Transmission and distribution = 36%
A long list of administrative costs not relating to generation, transmission or distribution = 25%
Now to clarify that, the generation, transmission and distribution costs include the (rather large) administrative costs actually relating to them. So there's an administrative cost, a very substantial one, embedded into those prices. The other 25% is for other administration, that which isn't about the physical generation, transmission or distribution of electricity.
Hence the industry employs more people today than it did 40 years ago. Noting that, in theory, vast improvements to efficiency have occurred over that time:
Remote read meters substantially replacing manually read meters.
Computerisation of all aspects of administration.
General reduction in manning levels, number of network maintenance depots, etc.
The industry still had a major construction workforce 40 years ago in every state.
Thermal generation has seen huge efficiency improvements. Back then NSW, Qld and SA all still had 30MW steam turbines in service, Victoria had 20MW as the smallest and that was about the point WA closed the 25MW but they still had 30MW beyond that. NT the smallest was 7.5MW for the Darwin system. All those small machines being far more labour intensive than modern, larger machines. They were less fuel efficient too.
Offsetting that has been a huge rise in bureaucracy at all levels and completely new administrative overheads on top.
Sounds like we are getting close to the changeover point, where the cost of usage remains fairly static and the service charges are increased to cover the network costs that @Smurf1976 keeps mentioning.The economics of solar panels, again.
The stark reality is that feed in tariffs are at rock bottom. Will this discourage investment in solar by consumers ?
Solar feed-tariffs plummet, but 'the stuff you use is very, very valuable'
Once, governments stumbled over themselves to shower money on rooftop solar owners. No longer — payments have tanked up to 99.93 per cent for exports.www.abc.net.au
It’s a bill shock with the tax payer funded subsidiesBill shock is going to be a huge problem for the elderly,when the taxpayer funded electricity subsidies stop, but it wont happen before the election so enjoy it while you can.
It’s missing the Bob Browns and his other loopy mates camp out in the picture like the original daysMeanwhile in Tasmania they're building a tunnel, albeit with somewhat less fanfare than Snowy:
View attachment 195264
That's not a dam, it's the edge of Lake King William which is created by a dam at a different location but this site itself is simply a hole in the ground.
Purpose is to replace the existing canals which convey water about 18.7km to the Tarraleah power station. Partly because they're now rather old (No.1 canal in service since 1938) and needing significant maintenance but the real long term plan is to increase the capacity of Tarraleah power station to 190MW (presently 90MW), the first step to which is to increase the water conveyance capacity.
Suffice to say I'll always be a fan of just getting on with things.
The cr@p part of it is that all that "wasted " solar could being going into storage, either batteries or hydro, and the consumers who generated that power in the first place could be paid a reasonable return when it's needed during the next cold and dark snap when people need their hot dinners and aircons.Sounds like we are getting close to the changeover point, where the cost of usage remains fairly static and the service charges are increased to cover the network costs that @Smurf1976 keeps mentioning.
Generation = 39%
Transmission and distribution = 36%
A long list of administrative costs not relating to generation, transmission or distribution = 25%
Storage and the excess capacity required to charge it, was always going to be the problem bit, then the next issue will be who pays for it.The cr@p part of it is that all that "wasted " solar could being going into storage, either batteries or hydro, and the consumers who generated that power in the first place could be paid a reasonable return when it's needed during the next cold and dark snap when people need their hot dinners and aircons.
One thing they have to be careful of with the project at Lake King William (where the new tunnel's being built) is the design choices are limited to the northern side of the existing No.1 canal.It’s missing the Bob Browns and his other loopy mates camp out in the picture like the original days
Here's a current example @Smurf it isn't only fossil fuel projects getting pushback.One thing they have to be careful of with the project at Lake King William (where the new tunnel's being built) is the design choices are limited to the northern side of the existing No.1 canal.
Because there was a previous (decades ago) idea to build a short tunnel on the southern side to shift water to a natural valley from which it'd flow into the Gordon catchment. The purpose of that wasn't for routine use but simply to discharge excess water in high rainfall years. The logic being the very large capacity of Lake Gordon would easily contain it for future use generating electricity at Gordon power station whereas in a wet year King William fills and spills, effectively resulting in the loss of that water.
So by linking the two, the priority use would've remained as at present, since with the greater head that yields more energy per litre of water, but any excess would've at least been used at Gordon.
Can't do that however because someone "conveniently" put a World Heritage listing on the land at that location specifically to prevent it being done.
As a concept I'm not against sensible conservation of the natural environment but there's a few clearly vindictive ones like that, the boundaries of a conservation area intentionally extending just metres past the point where it precludes building something, despite there being nothing of particular conservation merit at that location.
Long term I expect that'll backfire. As with anything take it too far and at some point it produces a backlash, it comes to be seen as unreasonable. Trouble is it then goes too far in the opposite direction.....
So we f***ed it up with gas and doing it again with ammonia and hydrogen... at the very least, put a clause to allow national use priority on a percentage of the productionHere's a current example @Smurf it isn't only fossil fuel projects getting pushback.
Scientists warn $100 billion ‘green’ project will destroy WA heritage
A plan to build 3000 wind turbines and six million solar panels in WA to make hydrogen and ammonia is in an area experts call “an irreplaceable global treasure”.www.watoday.com.au
A group of scientists has voiced dismay at a federal decision to disregard any world or national heritage value to Western Australia’s Nullarbor Plain in considering a $100 billion wind and solar project proposal for the region.
The Western Green Energy Hub would build 3000 wind turbines and six million solar panels in WA to power production of hydrogen and ammonia, mostly for export, though potentially leaving some for local use, in an area experts call “an irreplaceable global treasure”.
The project would start at the South Australian border and stretch west along the Nullarbor for hundreds of kilometres near the world’s largest arid limestone karst system, which Save the Nullarbor scientists describe as “a spectacular hidden world of ancient caves and rock holes of staggering dimensions, beauty, scientific values, and priceless cultural importance”.
A delegate of federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek has determined the project will require a full assessment of its impact on three criteria: threatened species, migratory species and the Great Australian Bight Marine Park.
WTF ? I can't recall any intelligent analysis that would propose such a use of Hydrogen produced at solar/wind farms.And a summary of the challenge switching fossil gas or adding H2:
Been vocal on this for years but that is an unbiased factual summary
Critical for our grid if we were going the way of the previous posts to generate h2 via remote solar wind farms and use it in our power plants or for retail domestic use ???
Is this what you guys are talking about?WTF ? I can't recall any intelligent analysis that would propose such a use of Hydrogen produced at solar/wind farms.
What you might be referring to is using excess solar/wind energy to power a Hydrogen electroliser which then can use hydrogen fuel cells (or a generator) to firm up energy supplies.
With regard to current energy costs this analysis bears a good look.
The epic policy failure that's to blame for rising household power bills
Households are once again bracing for another round of power bill hikes. But for a nation that is one of the world's biggest energy exporters, it's a situation that defies logic and reeks of an epic policy failure.www.abc.net.au
Hey Bas you reckon things were bad before, the situation ain't getting better, hopefully the renewables pick up the slack, soon.WTF ? I can't recall any intelligent analysis that would propose such a use of Hydrogen produced at solar/wind farms.
What you might be referring to is using excess solar/wind energy to power a Hydrogen electroliser which then can use hydrogen fuel cells (or a generator) to firm up energy supplies.
With regard to current energy costs this analysis bears a good look.
The epic policy failure that's to blame for rising household power bills
Households are once again bracing for another round of power bill hikes. But for a nation that is one of the world's biggest energy exporters, it's a situation that defies logic and reeks of an epic policy failure.www.abc.net.au
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