My Energy Manager | Businesses
My Energy Manager
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23.01.2022 Sadly, it will get a lot worse yet. The question that should be asked though is how much is the constant interference costing consumers? Because I can tell you it isn't cheap ... It's great for those who can line their pockets though. Easy money is no longer made from generating electrons each day, but from providing emergency services...
20.01.2022 Over the last 12 years, competition across wholesale markets has been allowed to reduce, due to the inability of regulators to stand up to power companies wanting more scale in market size and control over their supply chain. An ineffectual regulator day to day will eventually mean a large-scale intervention in an under-performing market is necessary in order to protect powerless consumers. These interventions are not pretty - and have nasty consequences such as raising uncertainty for investors, plus large lump-sum winners and losers, but a decade of hiding the head in the sand by regulators leaves the government of the day with little choice.
18.01.2022 NZ story, but the same applies in Australia. Often the 40%+ discount is only gained if you pay on time. While bad credit is a big problem for power companies, by any ordinary measure a 40% late payment penalty is extraordinary excessive.
17.01.2022 The problem stems back from the weakness of the Gov regulators (principally the ACCC) more than 10 years ago to prevent vertical and horizontal amalgamation (buy ups) by the power utilities to create monster companies that now hold the Australian consumer to ransom. Splitting them up now will be a massive fight and short term political and financial pain, but in the very long term will benefit consumers. Principally because more players equals more competition which equals more pricing reflective of costs. Good luck though, as I don't think the government has the money, will or time for the right.
17.01.2022 Adrien is spot on with the gist of what he says here. The writing was on the wall from when the ACCC became toothless against the horizontal and vertical integration of retail, generation and fuel. When competition is not sufficient and regulation is weak, super profits will always be the result.
17.01.2022 Surprise surprise ...
15.01.2022 Yes, you are reading that heading correctly...
14.01.2022 Despite what it appears, this has been on the cards for 10 years. 3 key factors: Regulators failed to reign in amalgamation following privatization,... so the benefits of privatizing are lost to the consumer....2/ lpg exporting opened Australia up to international prices (where competition does exist) and so the domestic consumer (where competition is light) now subsidizes our gas companies playing on the international stage...,3/ the grand plan around removing carbon dioxide at any cost has to flow through to the consumer -and it is.
13.01.2022 This article again tells us that we can save more than $500 per year from shopping around for our electricity, but yet most people don't. Actually, savings can be much higher - especially if you are a higher energy user. But shopping around only takes you so far. 10 years ago we had one of the cheapest and most reliable electricity systems in the world - now it is one of the most expensive and least reliable. Australians want better.
08.01.2022 What Retailers have agreed to: Retailers will write to customers who have reached the end of a discounted plan and outline, in plain English, alternative offers that are available. [GOOD STEP FOR THEM] The letter will direct them to the Australian Energy Regulator’s Energy Made Easy comparison website or another independent comparison website. [OK, BUT COMPARISON WEBSITES ARE NOT YET GOOD ENOUGH TO PROVIDE ACCURATE COMPARISONS OF ALL AVAILABLE OFFERS] Retailers will ou...tline to the government and to the competition watchdog steps they are taking to help customers, particularly what they are doing for families and individuals under a hardship program. [MINIMAL IMPACT] It will include a commitment that those customers will not lose any benefit or discount for late payment. [MINIMAL IMPACT] Retailers will produce clear user-friendly facts sheets on terms, late payment penalties and early-termination payments. [ELECTRICITY CONDITIONS ARE NEVER CLEAR, SO THIS SHOULD HELP THOSE WHO READ THEM] Retailers will regularly report to the Australian Energy Regulator how many customers are on offers where the discount period has expired. [YES, AND WHAT THEN?] [MY 2 CENTS WORTH]. At the end of the day, the retail margins are not the biggest problem. So efforts to curtain their profits from some customers will just drive them to look for customers who they can make up those profits from - like small business. So, for example, if the retailer makes less money from those who do not take the initiative to 'shop around' for better power prices because the retailers are now helping them to get on a better plan, then the lost margin will be recovered over time through other customers. That means the difference between those who shop around for better power prices and those who do not could decrease over time. Some people don't need to shop around because they can afford high power prices - whereas those who are watching every kWh to save $$ work hard to shop around for better deals. It is possible under these well intended measures, that the rich guy pays less and the person trying hard to save money could end up paying more. Fundamentally, more attention is needed on the cost of wholesale electricity, the poles and wire costs , and the ever changing 'green' and 'carbon' policies that make building low-cost base load power impossible. what do you think? do you shop around for a better power deal at least once per year? if not, why not?
07.01.2022 Tip of the iceberg. Once the enormous energy prices start rolling through the economy, you will see marginal manufacturing and energy intensive industries disappear, and even highly profitable ones squeezed. Then those that feed those companies under pressure. Australian competitiveness is being destroyed by a combination of high utilities and high labour costs. Job losses will be a big issue next election.
07.01.2022 The last time Labour introduced an economy changing carbon policy of this magnitude - I was energy trading. It was mid 2011, and our small energy trading fund seized on the government intervention when they and the Greens voted in the Carbon Tax. We made over $25 million in less than 6 months solely due to that policy. If they are allowed to be trusted with a 'just do it and hope' energy policy of this magnitude without properly being modeled, it will again be a big win for some, but a big lose for small business, energy-intensive production and residential consumers.
04.01.2022 You may have heard of aspirations to eliminate Australia's CO2 emissions from electricity. ie, become 100% 'renewable'. We are told this should be done to save the GBR and prevent coastal areas being inundated by sea-rise etc. The CO2 causality is another story, but what I want to focus on is what removing all Australia's electricity generation CO2 means in numbers. Australia's total CO2 emissions is about 558 million metric tonnes of CO2 (Mt CO2-e). Of this, 32% is from e...lectricity generation, or about 178 Mt CO2-e. That is how much 100% renewables would eliminate. Global man-made CO2 is around 37,100Mt (Australia therefore contributes 1.3% in total). Removing 178 Mt would reduce global man-made CO2 by 0.48%. Sounds good ... but last year China increased global CO2 emissions by 1.3% ... so they swallow up Australia's ENTIRE CO2 from electricity production by just their INCREASE every 4 or so months. The USA and India are also increasing CO2 output every year almost as much as Australia's entire CO2 emissions from electricity. Food for thought ... 100% renewables are good intentions, but will make 'virtually nill' impact on global CO2 levels. oh, and ALL man-mad CO2 contributes just 3.4% to atmospheric CO2.
