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NewsEnergy bills are too confusing and many just give up
Energy bills are too confusing and many just give up

Energy bills are too confusing and many just give up

Tags: Energy Information
Last updated by Kayley Harris on

If you’ve ever tried to work out how your energy bill is broken up or tried to compare retailers and found the process frustrating, new research shows you’re not alone.

The Grattan Institute said this week “the way retailers ­advertise their discounts is confusing and possibly misleading”.

Consumers found the plans difficult to negotiate and many had given up.

The Choice Consumer Pulse survey finds a real disconnect between Australian consumers and energy companies, with the cost of energy consistently rating as the top concern.

Which leads into the other headline-grabbing story this week that US billionaire Elon Musk says he could build a 100MW battery farm in South Australia in 100 days. It gets better, it it’s not done in 100 days, it’s free!

Click here to see the Club’s NEW Discounted Energy Offers for the Over-50s & see if you can save 100s on your bill.

If you’ve ever tried to work out how your energy bill is broken up or tried to compare retailers and found the process frustrating, new research shows you’re not alone.

The Grattan Institute said this week “the way retailers ­advertise their discounts is confusing and possibly misleading”.

The research concentrated on Victoria, which was the first state to deregulate and has the most electricity retailers, but has ­national ramifications because South Australia, Queensland and NSW have also deregulated their respective energy industries.

Grattan Institute energy experts Tony Wood and David Blowers report that part of the issue was complicated electricity plans offered by retailers.

Consumers found the plans difficult to negotiate and many had given up. Disturbingly, the report says retail electricity margins are up to three times higher than when the system was regulated by government

The Choice Consumer Pulse survey finds a real disconnect between Australian consumers and energy companies, with the cost of energy consistently rating as the top concern. 44% of consumers don't trust energy providers and almost two-thirds of Australians want to be self-sufficient in meeting their energy needs.

Which leads into the other headline-grabbing story this week that US billionaire Elon Musk says he could build a 100MW battery farm in South Australia in 100 days. It gets better, it it’s not done in 100 days, it’s free!

Now everyone is jumping on the bandwagon with energy supplier AGL offering a site for the battery farm in what seems almost a dare, and other local battery companies pitching their work too.

Sound too good to be true? Maybe…

Tesla does currently offer the Powerwall home battery product, which according to Choice could earn it’s keep in 15 years, if the battery lasts that long.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology last year launched a new lithium and antimony prototype battery it claims is much hardier and cheaper than lithium ion.

A survey of Fiftyup Club members in 2016 found a lot of you were very keen to install a battery eventually, but cost was the biggest barrier. Many are waiting for more competitors in the market to drive the cost down.

The SA opposition leader has suggested governments should subsidise batteries like they did solar panels, and rate-payers living in the Adelaide City Council area can already tap into the generous $5000 per Powerwall ratepayer subsidy on offer. But as many of our members point out, who pays for that subsidy? Yep, other rate payers …

Click here to hear the interview with the Grattan Institute’s Tony Wood

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/billionaire-elon-musk-is-seen-as-a-saviour-for-south-australia-with-his-battery-plan-for-our-power-crisis-but-is-it-worth-charging-ahead/news-story/64a4affa535c7abb22fa36845e938661

https://grattan.edu.au/report/price-shock/

https://www.choice.com.au/home-improvement/energy-saving/solar/articles/tesla-powerwall-payback-time

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/turnbull-flags-power-market-reforms-as-retail-margins-soar/news-story/ec90a906cda2645ab8d5f004bc5641f1

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colin
colin from SA commented:

there are 2 charges on the electricity invoice .namely usage in kw/hrs and the daily charge, both increased by far more than inflation usually on the first of july each year i have tried to determine just what the daily charge as shown and paid for by all consumers on their electricity invoice is for, and, as the retailer collects the money just who is it divided amongst and what are the ratios of the split in cents. but typically the information is again shrouded in secrecy.so far it has been difficult to find the answer because the retailer is typically not telling. .in fact my retailer informed me that "it is their right to charge what they like" without disclosing who gets what . I wonder if as a consumer we have any right to know who gets what share of the pie and by how much these increases are justified.. so far I have found out of the 84 cents daily charged the sa power networks who takes all the risk associated with running and maintaining a complex business receives only 30.12 cents ,so the inference is the retailer takes 54 cents an has no real business risk.no wonder they wont disclose what is going on. I am going to continue to persue these matters and try and get a satisfactory answer and what about 25 % discount pay on time, dose that tell us we are already being over charged 25% colin m south australia 

John
John from VIC commented:

Retailers should be banned from offering discounts as it is a ploy to confuse and mislead. The reason for this is that the majority, if not all, retailers have chosen to charge different kwh and daily service rates, so the discount applied is irrelevant if the retailers are allowed to charge whatever they can get away with. I have found with several retailers, some of whom have offered up to 42% discount, is that they still end up being higher than my current retailer who offers no discount. If discounts are allowed to be offered, then the charge out rates should be regulated and all retailers should all use the same charge out rates to which their offered discount is applied. 

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