Hot water system Tariff 31 controlled load now kicking in at 12:30pm

[Robw1]

Hi,

Noticed that my draw from the grid started going up at 12:30pm every day and that the usage at 12:30am went down to nothing, it used to be that the hot water system on Tariff 31 controlled load would start at 12:30am but now it seems to start at 12:30pm.

Also noticed that the rates for Tariff 31 controlled load have increased to $0.2558, higher than the general usage charges. Seems that it is straight from the grid as well and I can't use my excess solar generation in the middle of the day to power the hot water system.

Has anyone else noticed this or have advice on how to get my hot water system off the Tariff 31 controlled load circuit?

Thanks 

[Natalie-AGL]

Hi Robw1, Thank you for getting in touch. 

To further assist you with your enquiry please contact us. Our contact centre is available 24/7, you can find how to contact us via agl.com.au/contact-us. 

Kind Regards, 

Natalie 

[Spiked]

Well hello same here. Please read below. Just put this somewhere else in the discussion forum but good to know I am not the only one.

This is my first time here. I have a big concern and wondering if others are aware of same problem as I have found is happening at our house.

We have had Controlled Load being run at our meter after 7am and up to 4.30pm Demand tarrif time. We have solar and during day we are charged for electricity coming into our meter and this is when in normal days our solar takes care of our needs.

Since 20th April 2023 mainly and there have been previous times we suddenly have Controlledload running our Hot Water heater. It had been happening around 12pm to 2pm on a daily basis. I went to the meter box and turned off all circuit breakers to find out it was power being used by Hot Water heater.

I have contacted AGL numerous times to no avail, they blame the Solar Installer. I went to Solar Installer and they will come out and at cost to me remove connection to the Controlled Load meter. Problem should be solved no more spikes during daylight hours and our solar will be used as it should to heat our water.

My problem now is to get refunded by AGL who initiated the problem to start with and have been sneakily charging us for electricity when we are not looking.

[Spiked]

Hello again,

I downloaded the usage stats of all our usage since joining AGL last year and as an example of what is happening on the 4th July 2023 we were charged 12.09Kw for Controlled Load for one continuous 24hr period of which 7.133Kw was charged during the day. Other days are just normal at times.

Is this a new way to make gold? Or is the programmer at fault?

[Robw1]

Hi, thanks for the info, so it seems the controlled load (tarrif 31?) circuit and timings is controlled by AGL (or the provider). Seems I need to get an electrician to get my hot water off that circuit and maybe put in some sort of timer so I can control when it draws power. Might save me $400 a year by just doing that?

[Spiked · Accepted solution]

Hi Robw1

Just had my Tarrif meter removed yesterday. Timer set to switch hot water on between 9.30 and 3pm. All running on solar from here on out.

[Robw1]

Nice, if you dont mind me asking, was it a big job and any indicator of costs would be helpful. Ta

[Spiked]

Hi Robw1

Cost 1hr electrician plus call out fee so it depends on your electrician. They removed the meter from our box altogether.

[Becca07]

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@Spiked wrote:

Well hello same here. Please read below. Just put this somewhere else in the discussion forum but good to know I am not the only one.

This is my first time here. I have a big concern and wondering if others are aware of same problem as I have found is happening at our house.

We have had Controlled Load being run at our meter after 7am and up to 4.30pm Demand tarrif time. We have solar and during day we are charged for electricity coming into our meter and this is when in normal days our solar takes care of our needs.

Since 20th April 2023 mainly and there have been previous times we suddenly have Controlledload running our Hot Water heater. It had been happening around 12pm to 2pm on a daily basis. I went to the meter box and turned off all circuit breakers to find out it was power being used by Hot Water heater.

I have contacted AGL numerous times to no avail, they blame the Solar Installer. I went to Solar Installer and they will come out and at cost to me remove connection to the Controlled Load meter. Problem should be solved no more spikes during daylight hours and our solar will be used as it should to heat our water.

My problem now is to get refunded by AGL who initiated the problem to start with and have been sneakily charging us for electricity when we are not looking.

---

I have been searching everywhere for an answer to this, but I appear to have the Controlled load occurring twice per day for our HWS - once at 1am and then again at 11am. Is this normal, how can i investigate what the usage relates to? We have solar panels and a battery so this apparently random grid usage combined with the poor feed in tariff we now get is driving our bill through the roof 😞

[Paulsod]

Had an Energex Contractor install a Digital Meter 2 days ago. He said Energex (SEQ) controls the Tariff 31 time. Mine came on around 12.05pm till after 4pm since 01 july 2023 when our Electric prices shot up.

So the electric company is paying only 5c a kwh to other people for their Solar output and charging over 25c before gst to heat your water with your solar power (ripoff). I have been turning the Hot Water Switch off in the morning and on in the arvo so I get some money for my solar output plus they have to pay more to the electric providers.

I will be doing the same and get  Electrican to remove the Tariff 31 Control Box. The Electrican has to put paperwork in to remove it.

I can't put in a Hot Water Timer because I only have a 3kw Solar system (produces 2.5kws approx at most). You need enough Solar, in this case 3.6kw for the Timer to turn on to heat the Hot Water Tank. 

So I will just turn it on and off manually especially really cloudy/overcast days where I will have it off untill a sunny day.