My peak electricity is now $0.52 per KWH!
 

Ok, so seeing as I just paid a visit to the forum after a fews years absence to ask a question of the expert expats on here, I thought I'd just share some shocking bit of news (pardon the pun).

Last Quarter in NSW my electricity cost was aprox. 30c per KWH and it was advertised that it would be going up 16% for residential and 18% for business customers!!!

Well mine didn't go up 18% for my business here, it whet up a whopping 57% to 52 cent per KWH peak.

So I shopped around to the only other supplier and guess what? They too were 52 cents per KWH.

Anyway to all you potential new convicts to Australia please remember to bring plenty of ski wear for Australian winters and your screwed for Summers as you won't be able to afford to heat or cool your poorly made Australian houses!

Re: My peak electricity is now $0.52 per KWH!
 

If only the sun shone in Australia you could use solar power. :rolleyes:

Re: My peak electricity is now $0.52 per KWH!
 

Some of us do. (Not enough though).

Nice to see you Arkon. Hope you and yours are well, if a bit cold.;)

Re: My peak electricity is now $0.52 per KWH!
 

Even with solar my power bills average $200-300/mo. It's kind of hard to heat/cool something made of bricks and no insulation and single pane windows. My new "green" house boasts R3 in the roofspace. R3!!! It's like a second sheet of newsprint for insulation. :rolleyes:

Re: My peak electricity is now $0.52 per KWH!
 

That is nearly 3x the average rate in the UK for a business.

Re: My peak electricity is now $0.52 per KWH!
 

I didn't know R's went that low. :blink: Can you not tell the builder to put in more insulation, or isn't it even available?

Our walls are R11 which is pretty pathetic, and I think the attic is about R30, but may be a bit more than that.

Re: My peak electricity is now $0.52 per KWH!
 

Brits who self build generally get the spec ramped up a bit but unless you live down in Tassie/Victoria you can get builders look at you as though you're stupid and why on earth would you want insulation and double glazing????? :lol:

We've got about 25 solar panels and we've fully insulated the loft and an outside wall the husband may or may not have erected. We also have the woodburner and the house is pretty solid but from what I've seen and heard we're better off than most. We never use the aircon or reverse air but winter in Queensland is no where near as cold at other places and we're close enough to the ocean to get sea breezes in summer. Luck of the draw.

Re: My peak electricity is now $0.52 per KWH!
 

for once WA is cheaper, I work for the only energy provider in WA and it's 26c per kwh!!

Re: My peak electricity is now $0.52 per KWH!
 

Our power bill just went up from 250 to 320 per month. Over the last two years I have replaced most lights with LED, hot water only off peak, we only do washing and dishwasher off peak, turn everything off when we go out - and still it goes up. Sadly the more people go over to solar and self generated power, the more expensive it will get for the rest of us to cover their overheads and profit margin. A bit like the pub steak and chips, it gets smaller as the price goes up until all the customers go elsewhere and the pub shuts down.

Re: My peak electricity is now $0.52 per KWH!
 

Insulation and double glazing also work to keep the heat out in the summer - something that the locals don't seem able to get their heads around.


S

Re: My peak electricity is now $0.52 per KWH!
 

Plus they need some airtightness and blower door tests. These house leak like a sieve - even the new ones.

It would be perfectly possible to building houses in Melbourne that needed virtually no heating in winter or cooling in summer - and do it for about the same price. However, you'd need to nail those builders to the wall first.

Re: My peak electricity is now $0.52 per KWH!
 

This is true. My front door has nearly an inch gap underneath it.


S

Re: My peak electricity is now $0.52 per KWH!
 

I thought our 'leccy was expensive here as we are supposed to be the second dearest in Asia. Just done calculation and at 40.05pesos/Aus$ our cost is approx 22cents/KWH!
Solar power is only just starting to be used here domestically due to the initial cost being beyond the reach of most of the population, but roof mounted solar water heating is very popular. The local 'leccy company has just opened a new solar energy farm south of here that is generating 6megawatts and the country as a whole has over 900Mw of solar farms. It is commercially viable here as all coal is imported for the "standard" power stations. If the UK can have solar farms surely Oz can find space for a few? :)

Re: My peak electricity is now $0.52 per KWH!
 

It's not the space, it's the time, cost and regulations you have to overcome to connect a Solar enterprise to the electricity network. It's such a closed shop that if you are not an incumbent, it's practically impossible to connect and supply electricity.

In the UK, a farmer can build a field of solar panels, connect them to the network, and then sell the energy provider the electricity. It just doesn't work like that here unfortunately.


S

Re: My peak electricity is now $0.52 per KWH!
 

Ah! thanks for the explanation.