From todays telegraph: SWELTERING families will have to pay an extra $700 a year to run their air conditioners under stealthy new laws. Gareth and Nicole Timbs need to use airconditioning for children Alissa and Jake, Pictures: Justin Lloyd The changes will also force thousands of people to move their solar panel to catch the afternoon sun at “peak times”. Officials want all panels to face west, instead of north, to ease demand at peak afternoon and evening times, Almost two-thirds of homes use aircon and the changes are likely to hit hardest in Sydney’s baking western suburbs. The new pricing structure aims to pressure families to cut back their peak-time usage. Officials admit they should have ensured all panels were west-facing in the first place. FAMILIES who use airconditioners face a whopping $700 annual slug on their bills in a stealthy move by the energy regulator targeted directly at Sydney’s west — and it is already law. Snap power-price rises of up to 15,000 per cent in peak times have also been quietly introduced in the new regime, which commences in 2017. To beat the changes some households may have to allow their energy company to take control of their coolers remotely and switch them off. Those who can’t afford to buy more efficient units may have flee to community “cooling centres” such as libraries. About three out of four homes have aircon, double the rate of 20 years ago. In NSW, that figure is 64 per cent. Aircon use is blamed for a massive growth in demand for electricity at afternoon peak times, with power companies spending about $8 billion on network upgrades to prevent blackouts since 2005. That investment has been recouped in huge price rises. Charges for network services now account for half the average bill while power usage makes up just 20 per cent. The Australian Energy Markets Commission says it must give households ‘price signals’ to crack down on peak demand increases. The AEMC claims it changed the rules last month to allow such ‘signals’ in order to bring modest medium-term savings to most homes. But not everyone will benefit. “If you use a lot of electricity relative to the average at ... tea time and if you don’t change your behaviour in any way, you may pay more,” AEMC boss Paul Smith said. Geographically, those facing the biggest increases are homes on the inland fringes of Sydney, where houses tend to be larger, summers are hotter and winters are colder. The heftiest hits will likely be to households with a stayat-home parent. Gareth and Nicole Timbs rely on airconditioning to cool their home at The Ponds, in northwest Sydney. Although they try other methods ds of keeping the temperature down for their children Alissa, sa, 8, and Jake, 6, eventually tually it just gets too hot. “You close the doors to try keep the house cool lb but eventually you just need some cooler air and have to turn on the aircon,” Mr Timbs said. “Raising the prices seems a bit unfair. Out here they are building new houses, clearing the trees, so there is no shade.” AEMC research has questioned the basis of the changes, finding they could hurt “customers who are least able to manage consumption.” Tariffs based on the rule changes won’t start until 2017 and no retailer or network has yet revealed pricing plans. But energy policy expert Tony Wood of the Grattan Institute said the starting point would be axing ‘ cross-subsidies’ that have kept the annual cost of running a 5kw airconditioner to $300 when it puts a $1000 burden on the network. Other AEMC research says a “critical peak surcharge” of $47 per kW hour could be applied. The average price is about 30c per kW hour.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 05:58:19 +0000