Misinformed on digital meter

[jimmey]

In accordance to Monday aug 14th 2023 the daily telegraph

heading Power bill gripes surge -Rising cost, smart meter shocks drive spike in complaints to energy ombudsman.

I live wagga 2650 ,this artical indicated to me that i have been misinformed about Tarif , i was informed that the tarif would stay the same when the digital meter  installed this sep 2023  to replace old meters.

For this purpose i will be cancelling the digital meter and proberly changing elelec companys.

yes the might be one where tarif is a fraction higher (hoping not) but then more carefull on how they do there reading and calculations.

[NeilC]

@jimmey 

The benefit of smart meters is that they greatly allow you to locate a tariff that would be more beneficial to you.

On the Single rate tariff that you are on now, it gives you the same rate all day, whilst a smart meter will give you a variety of rates and allow you to manage your electricity usage to your own benefit.

You can look at all rates available on https://www.energymadeeasy.gov.au/ (you can click on this and it will start a web page for you).

I can tell you one tariff to stay away from and that is DEMAND tariff as looks can be deceiving without knowing your actual usage (which you will be able to see with a smart meter after a while).

A quick look shows that you can expect to pay

Daily supply charge 176.08 cents/day General usage rates 40.80 cents/kWh for single rate (ie no smart meter).

You can only refuse a smart meter once.

If you change Retailers you will still probably have exactly the same meter reader, as most retailers use the meter reader(s) that your Supplier (Essential Energy I believe for Wagga Area) employs.

You did not mention Solar but, if you don't have it now and decide to get it, then you immediately get a Smart Meter anyway. (Which you cannot refuse in most circumstances)

Good luck and start your search now to find the plan that you desire.

[jimmey]

i see what you mean. however at the time the digital meter goes i replacing the others , they do not tellyou (or even ask you before hand) or conferm for you what taffif you want it to be on at the time the digital meter goes in. Im finding agl so hard to comunicate with and to make changes after the meter install will be easeier said than done.

[jimmey]

mostly yes i did get enlightened.

but not on the subject - where and what went wrong and whats been done about as so it wont happen again with non digital meters. and yes still hope that agl will be a lot more carefull ( not relying on automation) with there calculation of bills

[NeilC]

@jimmey 

I don't understand your issue about the bills.

No matter what sort of meter you have, the bills will (and have been for many many years) be calculated using computers with the bills also being printed via computers and high speed printers.

Your bill clearly shows how your bill is calculated and is easily checked using a calculator or a spreadsheet.

About the only issue I have is working out the GST payable as prices on your bill are calculated without GST and the last process on your bill is adding GST.

I have attached an AGL document here that explains how to read your bill.

Personally I have had a Smart meter since the 30th January 2019 and because of that, I can download may data and using that, can make predictions of what my bill will be and make fortnightly payments to ensure that I do not have bill-shock. ( I also do the same for my water meter on the right below).

My electricity bill is easy to calculate as it is read every 90 days, whilst my water bill is really an approximation as I have no idea when the meter reader will read the meter.

In both calculations I work out my consumption so far, divide it by the number days to the since the last bill meter read date, to get a daily charge and then multiply it by 90 to get the predicted cost.

In SA we pay the highest costs for both water and electricity but I have noticed that we pay lower costs for our electricity supply costs.

Note on our electricity bill I have a credit showing, this is the credit in our account minus the current bill prediction, and at the moment we are paying $23 per fortnight into the account.

[LindyLou281]

How does one "locate a tariff which is more beneficial"?  I mean, you can't negotiate with the supplier, can you?  "Please, sir, I want an off-peak tariff from 7pm to 4am as I'm a night-owl and want to be up all night and turn it off, except for my fridge from 3am to 6pm".  seems ridiculous.  Please explain.

How do you do this?

Will a smart meter actually reduce the estimated bills and wastage and abuse?

Thanks.

[Lester]

@LindyLou281 with digital meters and TOU plans, it's more finding a tariff time to suit you, ie using power if possible in shoulder (solar soak hours) or off peak.

TOU plans are bad for people working during the (usually) cheapest daytime tariff period, generally between 1000 and 1500, they use peka rates before work, and peak rates after work.

Note, plans and tariffs differ all around Australia, so you need to compare in your state / region.

You can compare plans, which can have different times and rates, but let me say my own experiences checking around on this in recent times has shown that almost all power retailers are about the same, some charge less for tariff rates, but higher daily supply charge, and others the other way around, so it's hard to get a better deal.

[NeilC]

@LindyLou281 

You will never find a cheap tariff "I want an off-peak tariff from 7pm to 4am" because the standard tariffs are

PEAK 00:00 to 01:00, 06:00 to 10:00 and 15:00 till 24:00

OFF PEAK 01:00 till 06:00

SHOULDER 10:00 till 15:00

Now to search for RATES go to the Energy Made Easy Federal Government site.

It is compulsory for ALL retailers to put their current pricing on this site

https://www.energymadeeasy.gov.au/article/electricity-tariffs/

Select the link above and it will take you to a new page in your browser.

Like most web pages it is best read using a Personal Computer or Tablet.

Be prepared to spend a bit of time (Hours...) investigating plans.