Electricity Prices Triple in 6 Years in Victoria

Diji1 on 07/07/2015 - 18:50

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2015/s4268724.htm

Isn't it wonderful to have sold your own electricity generation capacity on the lie that "competition" was going to deliver lower prices and then to have that happen. Do you feel like suckers? I do.

The gov department that apparently oversees this regime wants "more information" before they decide whether this is a problem for Victorians. They're supposed to be providing power at lower prices for consumers: clearly by their actions they're shown they exist to enrich power retailers at the consumers expense.

Of course I live in SA, one of the states that doesn't have this price brake - and I pay more than that. Boy do I feel like a sucker.

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Comments

  • [Deactivated] on 07/07/2015 - 20:00

    Are you paying more for generation or distribution or both?

    Here in WA there is some talk about privatizing Western Power who is responsible for distribution.

    Synergy, the state owned retailer has just increased charges this month by about triple the CPI.

    How is being privatised going to make power costs higher?

    • cannedhams on 08/07/2015 - 01:13

      The power companies generally have an agreement with the government that they are entitled to a certain return on their capital investment.

      It didnt take them long to realise the sting in the tail. If you want to increase your return, you just increase your investment. Hence the talk about gold plated infrastructure.

      It gets worse as more people opt for solar, as this means that the power companies have to charge remaining customers more in order to make their margin.

      Any talk of "competition" is bulldust. Power supply is a natural monopoly. You don't have the choice of five electricity cables running to your house, there's only one cable and whoever owns it has you by the short and curlies as far as power supply is concerned.

      • lemc6125 on 08/07/2015 - 10:41

        Not entirely true. The owner of the cables that supply your house are not the ones that send you the bill (in Victoria). This article is talking about the retailers - eg. AGL, Lumo etc - not the distributors - eg. Powercor and city power.

        The problem is not the charges that the distibutors have, it's the prices that the retailers charge you. The money you pay for your electricity bill to the retailers helps pay for their tv/newspaper/radio ads, commissions for door knockers, all sorts of marketing strategies as well as the electricity and distribution costs. Personally, I'd rather not pay for marketing costs because my electricity retailer has to compete with others.

        • pjetson on 08/07/2015 - 10:52

          Personally, I'd rather not pay for marketing costs because my electricity retailer has to compete with others

          The retailers basically do not have to do anything but run a billing system (and most can't even manage that properly). They are an entirely useless and costly middleman in the system, so personally, I'd rather not have to pay for them at all.

  • pjetson on 07/07/2015 - 22:11
    +1

    How is being privatised going to make power costs higher?

    How is being privatised going to make power costs lower?

    The energy companies have one aim, and only one aim, and that is to make the most money possible.

    The simple fact is that privatisation in Victoria has been an extremely costly failure. We have the most expensive energy costs in Australia.

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