Is it fraud? New Controlled Load using your solar

[Malster]

So recently anyone with a Controlled Load (CL1 or CL2) service was advised that they were changing the timings to move some of the CL during the day when solar is abundant.  Makes logical and environmental sense.

What they failed to tell us is that the CL will be using your own solar, but they will still charge you full-rate for your CL service.

In my case, where my HWS dissipates approx 4800kW I can observe the following:

Solar production :~3kW

Approx 500W used by house

Leaves 2.5kW exported.

CL activates for 10 min (11:00am)

Now importing 2.4kW 

Thus i am only drawing down 2.4kW from the grid..

Actual grid consumption for that 10min:

2400 / (60min/10) = 400Wh

What did my raw data from smart meter say?  931Wh for CL usage.

So I got billed for all the CL1 usage, even though it came from my own solar.

If you have your own monitoring as I do (2 independent systems), you might want to check what is happening with your CL service.

[volt]

Right, I too am in the same boat. I have 12KW of solar, a 30 KW battery and a Intellihub meter. My hot water (on controlled load) has been activating during the day when I have been exporting to the grid. Nevertheless, in my most recent bill I was charged for 785 kWh of controlled load usage, which is impossible. I thank you for keeping the pressure on AGL and hope that they won't simply resolve the case for you as an individual but own up to the mistake and reimburse all impaxted customers.

Personally, I'll be getting my hot water moved over to the main circuit and getting the controlled load option removed from my account.

[Caban]

---

@volt wrote:

Personally, I'll be getting my hot water moved over to the main circuit and getting the controlled load option removed from my account.

---

That is a wise move. It is quite staggering how much power you need to use to make a CL break even. Quite easy to work out with spreadsheet. The Daily Rate is compared to the difference of the CL Rate and the normal OP rate.

[Lester]

"Personally, I'll be getting my hot water moved over to the main circuit and getting the controlled load option removed from my account."

Sure, but you have to get that breaker with a timer on it, so you can be in control of when it comes on.

The Hager we had fitted.

We still have it set for 0100 - 0500, so we are an hour each side within our very cheap 8c tariff midnight to 0600 (just in case DST mucks it about, or the EST that is the base times for NEM I think).

It's like 30c or so a night avg, I'm happy with that (it used to be $1.30 or so a day on CL !).

You can see on the timer you can have it off, timer on, on simply on.

Nice summer days, I can turn it on for an hour during solar production, another hour later it does a quick top off for 10 mins, but really with the simple hour done in solar soak, the early morning timed boost is only a matter of cents in cost then.