There has been much discussion in the media lately about the push to convert all domestic electricity meters to Smart Meters, accompanied by retailers encouraging customers to go onto "time-of-day" or "demand" tariffs. The thinking behind this move is to set price signals for electricity consumers to change their usage habits as the grid transitions to renewables.
However, there has also been much discussion about the fact that "time-of-day" and "demand" tariffs are much too complex for the average user to comprehend, and will likely penalise those least able to take advantage of potential benefits.
I have a suggestion that might help achieve the objective of reducing demand in peak periods and encouraging demand at times of plentiful supply.
Instead of "time-of-day" tariffs only applying to electricity imported from the grid, how about AGL and other retailers offering "time-of-day" variations to exports as well? This would involve offering less payment for power exported during times of plentiful supply, and higher payment for power exported in peak times.
This would only work for customers with batteries, but isn't it desirable to encourage more customers to install batteries and use them to firm up capacity in peak times??
