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Ausgrid changing pricing for electricity grid access
- Thread starter Quickst
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Chuq
Active Member
I totally understand the reason for electricity companies introducing new tariffs like this, but people choose to buy solar or solar/battery systems, a ~10 year investment, based on the tariffs available at the time. There needs to be a longer "phase in" period. Someone installing now would be much better off installing east & west facing panels, rather than all north facing, for example. Or they may opt for fewer panels and get a battery instead. But the person who installed theirs 6 months ago has no foreknowledge that this was coming.
Ausgrid's proposal for the 2024-29 regulatory period, where this is included, was submitted back in January 2023, two and a half years before it becomes mandatory. If anything I've thought that these tariff structure determinations are too slow moving - the process takes 18 months and then applies for 5 years.
Chuq
Active Member
I do get that.. I work for a company that operates under the same process! But the details are not generally easy to find for the general public!
Generally with our tariffs they grandfather the old ones for some time - the worst they would do is not allow new connections to use the old tariffs.
I think if you're the kind of person that might choose to optimise the placement of their solar panels based on maximum return, it's not too much to expect you to be able to look up the tariff structure proposals for your distributor. At the very least, the solar installers should be across this when they're advising their clients what kind of system to install.
It's not like the retailers, who actually set the feed-in-tariff that applies, fix their rates for 10 years anyway. It's not even guaranteed that the retailers will pass this on - retailers have generally been saying in these AER determination processes that two-way tariffs are too complicated for them to pass on to customers (that's one of the reasons EvoEnergy cited for abandoning their two-way proposal).
Most advice for the last few years has already tended towards "aim to maximise self-consumption for the best return", which for most people already means east and west-facing panels. For anyone who hasn't heard that message already, here it is: Don't make any decisions today based on the expectation that you'll be paid a good rate for electricity generated in the middle of the day.
Not yet, there is 13months before it becomes compulsory
Im waiting for Tesla PowerWall3 with ability to be connected to an existing solar system.
Maybe time to buy another EV.
Chuq
Active Member
Another option for this is something like a hot-water diverter. MyEnergi makes one called the Eddi that operates on a similar basis to the Zappi - tracks your solar export and can be set to operated based on excess solar generation. Haven't looked into it, but apparently can also go to things like pool pumps, etc.
myenergi - eddi - Energy Redirector | EVolution Australia
This is the one renewable energy product that can seriously slash your electricity bill. Incredibly some customers have seen this product provide a 100% ROI within 12 months! What does it do? The eddi diverts surplus power from your solar or wind turbine system – putting it to use to heat your...
www.evolutionaustralia.com.au
Hm, our pool pumps are already set to use midday power, but it's not as good for the pool itself as the chlorine generation (from salt) during this time frame is immediately degraded by the sun. Best to generate chlorine when the sun isn't up.
For hot water, your option might be good for dumb element hot water systems, but I'm not sure how that would work with heat pump systems that already have some sort of controller built into them. We have Sanden units which already try to activate during the day, but sometimes need to boost at other times if there's a big water draw.
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