<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/solar-sharer-has-become-the-solar-shocker-with-the-costliest-of-retail-offers/>
"It could have been a very smart, exciting and world-first energy policy
initiative. But now we can see the results, it’s clear that Solar Sharer has
gone terribly, terribly wrong.
As is too often the case in energy policy, the customer ends up the loser. And
this has all occurred with the approval of the Australian Energy Regulator, the
government’s market regulator.
Thanks to the amount of home rooftop solar installed in Australia, there is
frequently a glut of electricity on the national electricity market in the
middle of the day, so electricity prices on the wholesale market are cheap,
sometimes zero or even negative.
When federal energy minister Chris Bowen announced last November that all
electricity companies in NSW, South Australia and South-East Queensland would –
from July 1 – be forced by law to offer three free hours of electricity between
11am and 2pm through his Solar Sharer scheme, it seemed a top idea.
It would encourage people to use power between these hours, soaking up that
solar power and so cutting demand later in the day when prices are higher. This
would also enable households without solar, especially tenants and apartment
dwellers, to share in the benefits of the energy transition to renewables.
The electricity market is dominated by the big three retailers: AGL, Energy
Australia and Origin. They all own big power stations, too, so they are also
generators. Because of this they are often referred to as “gentailers”.
I reviewed multiple pricing schedules on the government’s Energy Made Easy
website and it’s now clear that Solar Sharer pricing has the highest cost for a
household of all pricing schedules on offer.
The electricity retailers have increased the price of electricity outside the
free three hours of Solar Sharer, plus they’ve increased the daily supply
charge above the supply charge in their other pricing offers."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
