Quite a shock to see electricity prices in the Aussie states

[Lester]

..

I'd like to know why South Australia has such a disparity with power prices as compared to ALL the other Australian states.

ACT  - 23.67c/kWh

NSW - 33.84c/kWh

NT  -   27.37c/kWh

QLD - 30.21c/kWh

SA  -  45.54c/kWh

TAS - 28.12c/kWh

VIC - 28.45c/kWh

WA  - 30.06c/kWh

These are figures from a recent comparison site done in April 2024, and seem correct from what I can find.

My brother in regional coastal Nth Qld pays 33c odd inc gst, so matches up there.

How do other states line up for community members here ?

Just comparing the SA avg to our neighbours in Victoria, that equates to us paying 160% of their avg tariff.

How can this be when the general cost of living (and wages in comparison) are generally higher in eastern states, the rates in SA should be no higher, or probably lower than eastern state capitals.

Don't let Canberra's lowest rate in Australia bother you, that puts us at 193% of their avg tarrif.

No wonder GOVCO there thinks what's the problem with power prices !

[Caban]

@Lester 

I guess there has to be a downside for living in SA.

Nowhere can be ALL good. 🤣

[Lester]

Seems very wrong @Caban and just curious at to how network authorities can come up with such a massive difference.

My initial thought is network costs, but it places such a strain on SA residents and businesses, my workshop tariffs and supply charge are higher than home too.

[Caban]

@Lester 

I am guessing that the population compared to the geographical area covered does add to the costs of supply. There are probably fewer people to share the expenses of maintaining the infrastructure and the administrative costs.

The up side is you get to live in South Australia. You guys are only out done by the Banana Benders is extolling the virtues of their home state (in my experience) Those from WA are close.

[TraceyJ]

Hi Lester

have you also been able to compare what the daily supply charge rate is.  In Qld ours has just increased on 1/7/24 to $1.27 per day, a $0.37c increase from $0.90 that was being charged back in September last year.

This increase for an average bill of 30 days increased our supply charge by $11.00 per month, based on the number of households in Qld as at 2021 census this puts an additional revenue (based on increase only) of $24 million.  

You then have the increase in the kwh charge based on usage has increased by $0.10c from September 2023 to July 2024.

We as consumers are certainly paying for all the changes.

[Lester]

Hi TraceyJ.

Our old supply charge per day didn't change, still at 92.96c + gst = $1.0256.

Although our general tariffs per KWh went down from July 1st, it was only 0.75c maximum . . . yes, a drop of a whole 3/4 of a cent with other TOU rates falling by a more modest 0.4 of a cent.

I have found any 'competition' here with lower tariffs, usually have a higher supply charge, so people have to make decisions on what retailer / plan suits their particular needs.

There is not much escape for consumers of electricity, apart from (if they can afford it, or if renting a landlord allows it) going solar, better, going solar with a battery, or use power a lot more wisely.

Or maybe that should be use power a lot more inconvenient time, at any cheaper tariff hours.

[Caban]

@TraceyJand @Lester 

[Monty Python 4 Yorkshire-men Men Mode] I dream of a Supply Charge of $1.02 a day [/Monty Python 4 Yorkshire-men Men Mode]

In the days of yore, the supply charge was negligible. This was a time when our grid was all state owned. The cost was mainly in the energy used. When the system was sold cheaply to political mates privatised the supply charges were increased to cover the distribution costs. They soon learned that the punters were more focused on the unit costs of energy and they could sell products where that was lower but the daily fee was inflated.

In my area I did have a supplier with a daily charge of $1.01 a day, which was a lot higher that many city plans aat the time which were down in the $0.60(ish) at the time. It was still good for here. That retailer was acquired by AGL who honored the rates for a while, but eventually changed.

When assessing Energy Plans I have a spreadsheet. I put in all the charges of the various offerings and then I have fields where I enter my usage. The output is the charges for each component and a quarterly bill. It makes choosing a plan easy. The fields which matter most to my situation is the Daily Charge and the Feed In Tariff. The actual cost of the various power prices is almost irrelevant as I buy so little, except a bit of Off Peak power occasionally. This is the result of being on Solar and Batteries for over a decade now. My aim is to make the Feed In Tariff negate the Daily Charge, which cancels out my cost. At present I get a Credit Invoice each quarter. If things change I may have to consider the costs and hassle of running a Back Up Generator. This has not been economical yet. If it were I may look at a WVO Diesel unit.

[Lester]

"My aim is to make the Feed In Tariff negate the Daily Charge, which cancels out my cost. At present I get a Credit Invoice each quarter."

That's my aim too, think I will have to get a battery though to almost eliminate all my quarterly bills.

Summer's covered fine, but 2 shoulder periods will be minor bills, and looks like winter will be about 3/5 to 1/2 what my pre solar bills were. 

I hate seeing my excess feed in during the day go to the grid for 6c, then early evening paying the 50c peak, rather a battery to cover that, but I have to weight it all up when winter is done and these 2 trees come down (now first week of AUGUST !! Tree guys are way behind.)

"If things change I may have to consider the costs and hassle of running a Back Up Generator. This has not been economical yet. If it were I may look at a WVO Diesel unit."

Do you think this will be less cost ?

Never really considered it, and not sure how well it would work out vs even grid cost.

I think you have batteries of some description, so you'd just use a bit of generator to top off what you need to negate any peak charges ?