Dispute with Energy Provider about Solar Connection and Where to Go from Here

LTorak on 07/05/2019 - 19:53

TL:DR - got solar installed at my house in October 2018. Origin didn't raise the work order to install the smart reader until after I questioned their bill in April 2019. Origin have said they are only going to reimburse me $107 for not connecting it for 183 days.

Hey Everyone,

Not sure if this is the right place but I guess I just wanted to vent. Been a long time lurker and finally thought it was time to signup as I need some input.

I live in QLD in my own home and had a 6Kw solar system installed in October 2018. I received a text message from Energex stating my connection had been accepted and thought it was all setup and saving me some money to start paying itself off.

I received my first bill in January 2019 for $312.04 and no solar was spotted on the bill, however there was a notice on there that it was an estimated read. No big deal I have received this notice before, the period they were reading meters was early January so they may have been short staffed. Gave them a benefit of a doubt until the next bill arrived in April for $264.12 showing no solar and again an estimated read.

My energy bills have always been around this price each quarter so I thought something was off which is why I called them to find out why my solar hasn't been included. After I called I got put through to the solar department to find out my smart meter hadn't been installed which means the past 5 months of energy going back into the grid hasn't been recorded. Instead my meter was running backwards which is why I was receiving an estimated read instead of a normal read.

After finding out my smart meter hadn't been installed I requested the work order to be raised to get it going. I then asked to make a complaint as my solar system hasn't been saving me money for 5 months. Was transferred through to a representative who then asked why I hadn't called sooner. I said I shouldn't have to question every bill I receive and they should have done their job. Got told to wait until the smart meter was installed and then lodge a complaint to request compensation which may or may not occur.

Smart meter has now been installed but the case manager who was very lovely told me they are investigating why it wasn't done last year and she will calculate my compensation on the amount of power my system would generate however I would only get a third back to account for device usage during the day. The compensation being returned is only $107 which is less than a dollar a day.

So here's the thing, they first charge me for two estimated reads at full price without taking into account for my solar tariff/production and then only wants to refund me a third of what my tariff is.

My solar tariff is only 7c/kWh (I know its not the best on the market however the pay on time discount is 28%) so my compensation is only going to be for 2.3c/kWh. However this doesn't take into account the energy I was using from the solar first before putting into the grid so I shouldn't be paying full price for the energy I was using during the day.

Just feels like although they have screwed up I am paying full price for the energy during that time and they only get to refund me a little bit.

Can I take this further with https://www.ewoq.com.au ?

Would it be worth taking it further. I would be happy for my energy provider to refund me the last bill and that's it.

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Comments

  • Diji1 on 07/05/2019 - 20:09
    -5

    After shafting the population by privatising electricity when 75% of people didn't want it, the Government set about shifting the cost and financial risk of building the power generation plant itself onto the population while the largest businesses continued to pay no tax.

  • mskeggs on 07/05/2019 - 20:09

    Your calculations don’t add up with $1 per day if it is 2.3c/kWh.
    It is annoying this happened, but I don’t think anyone can be forced to reimburse you anything for the delay, so it is good they are offering you something at all.

    • Torak on 07/05/2019 - 20:23

      It's less than $1 a day. It's about 58c a day due to their stuff up.

  • redfox1200 on 07/05/2019 - 20:30

    i didnt think you were "allowed" to switch on the solar until the meter is installed

    • AustriaBargain on 07/05/2019 - 21:19

      Other than donating energy to the grid, what's the harm in it.

      • Torak on 08/05/2019 - 02:09

        I didn't switch on the inverter my installer did. Said it was good to go.

        Origin received the paperwork but didn't action it.

        Because I wasn't using enough energy during the day the meter was going backwards and forwards. Couldn't give them an accurate read.

        One of the people I spoke to at origin said that was meter tampering and if I left it longer Energex could have complained and investigated me for tampering with the meter.

  • RockyRaccoon on 07/05/2019 - 20:36

    Keep in mind the savings you really make on your solar system are when you use the power yourself, rather than the feed in tariff. However if you are not able to use the power when its generated then you need to get the highest feedin rate.

    So if you are generating power, lets say 2 Kwph at say 3pm, and you use that, its not 14c that you save, its 50-60c which you would have paid the energy company from them.

    Solar will always be used first by the system, so not having your meter set up, would mean only the excess power would not be recorded. So taking scenario above, if you were using 1Kwph of that energy, you would have lost the 7c that the energy co wasnt recording as going back to the grid. So they only owe you for what they receive (or should have received)

    So the big saving isnt what you sell to them, its what you dont have to buy from them.

    Also not having a smart meter could, depending on your time of use, have been better for you as smart metering tends to ping you more if you use power at peak times,.

    • redfox1200 on 07/05/2019 - 20:41

      i think the issue was the meter was spinning backwards, so they have no way of telling how much power was used. so they estimated the bill based on previous quarters

      • RockyRaccoon on 07/05/2019 - 20:58

        So in reality the only way anyone is going to know, is to look at the next few bills. and then see what the net impact is after the installation.

        As I said it all depends on when the OP uses power. If they use it late afternoon/evening at peak rate when the solar imput is lower, its not going to save as much.

        I would be talking to Origin and seeing if they would give credit, if the next bills show a significant drop

        Choice did an article on this sometime ago (although its NSW based)

        https://www.choice.com.au/home-improvement/energy-saving/red…

        • Torak on 08/05/2019 - 02:11

          Looks like it's been a problem before but it was due to shortage of meter installers when in my case origin just didn't bother to raise the work order.

    • Torak on 08/05/2019 - 02:05

      Your right my savings are more towards not using grid energy than feeding it back in. However that's not how origin calculates it.

      As I replied elsewhere I had a choice between a 7c per kWh and 15c kWh plan but chose the 28% plan due to the discount as I don't know how much I would put back in. Wouldn't make sense to pay more for the energy I use at nighttime if I don't generate enough. So until I have enough data I would rather have the higher discount than the higher fees in tariff because I just don't know how much energy if at all I put back into the grid.

      My main problem is that origin dragged their feet and charged me full rate during the 183 days without taking into account the savings my solar would have made and now they only want to credit 1/3 of just the feed in tariff.

      Seems unfair for their mistake.

  • berserkk on 07/05/2019 - 20:49
    +2

    if your meter was running backwards, it would have worked out better for you.
    that means . If your solar tarrif is 7c, and your meter was going backwards you are technically being paid 26c.
    you will see this when you get your actual meter read vs the estimated read.

    • Torak on 08/05/2019 - 01:46

      You're right it would have worked out for me. Problem is that origin charged me for all that "usage" and now only giving me a fraction back.

      When I contacted origin back in November 2018 to choose a solar plan I had a choice between a plan that paid 7c per kWh and 28% discount or a plan that gave me 15c per kWh but only 4% discount. I chose the 28% discount as I didn't have enough data on how much we would put into the grid.

      Good thing I did or I would have paid the higher rate and not get the bonus feed in tariff. Im going to wait for more data to see if I'm better off with the other plan but for now I'll stick with the 28%.

      In fact after this whole debacle I should switch to a different company so that origin doesn't get more of my money.

      • berserkk on 08/05/2019 - 09:41

        what will they charge you when they do a real read? you should get a credit back…
        They should refund eveything they have charged you on "guess" usage and only charge you on the actual meter read
        doesn't matter if it goes backwards, they can give you 7c per kwh in the difference between your last real meter read and this meter read if it has actually gone backwards

        • Torak on 08/05/2019 - 10:06

          They won't do a meter read and even if it went backwards they won't credit me for the difference.

          They claim I could have tampered with the meter which is a crime.

          • brad1-8tsi on 08/05/2019 - 12:04

            @Torak: My work colleagues meter was going backwards and Country Energy gave him a credit. No accusation of tampering. Origin must be real a##holes.

  • Archi on 07/05/2019 - 21:38
    +2

    Why are you disputing it.. you are better off with the meters running backwards.

    7cents VS 26 cents

    As long as your meter is in the positive and paying something, then they won't question why your meter is running backwards.

    • Torak on 08/05/2019 - 01:38

      Problem is that my wife and I aren't home during the day so the meter was running backwards further than what the previous meter read was. The first read was estimated because it could be conceived as meter tampering which is a crime.

      Ie origin wasn't happy I wasn't using enough energy to make up for the solar during the day.

  • brad1-8tsi on 08/05/2019 - 08:45

    No comment on the refund but regarding your NFIT.

    Disregard the discount on your power prices and look at the big picture including when you are home and usage patterns.

    I put the GFs 5kw system on zero discount with 20c NFIT (AGL Solar Saver). Her power bill for the last 6 months would have been ~$600 but she's now $390 in credit.

    • Torak on 08/05/2019 - 10:08

      I understand about the discount but until I see the data no use going on the higher NFIT if I pay more for my energy during the night/weekend.

      If I had gone on the higher NFIT plan I would have been charged a higher amount due to the reduced discount. Origin aren't planning on refunding me anything for what they have charged.

      • brad1-8tsi on 08/05/2019 - 12:02

        It goes against logic but as I said the 0% discount and higher NFIT worked better for her usage pattern and Ausgrids peak/off-peak/shoulder times.

  • savemore on 23/05/2020 - 08:08

    Coming in late to the conversation, and not that I experienced exactly the same as OP, but I can say that it appears Origin have history on this. When I first had my solar installed (in 2010) I was not credited on my account with the FIT for a few bills. I spent a significant time putting together an Excel spreadsheet to show them usage and solar readings (I did have accurate information). They kept on acknowledging that there was an issue, and I think I ended up with at least 2-3 $50 credit on my account, but was given the run around for quite a while and I think even went to the electricity ombudsman, as I was not happy with the lack of action that Origin provided. I am happy to report that I have never had an electricity bill that was in debit and have been in credit since 2010, as I managed to get in on the first FIT in SA.

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