Power bills for South Australians have reportedly risen by 160 per cent since 2002 – and more pain may be on the way on July 1.
A proposal (PDF) from SA Power Networks lodged with the Australian Energy Regulator seeks to increase the average residential bill (5,000 kWh annual consumption) by 5.1% ($95 annually) from July 1 this year. For households consuming 4,000 kWh annually; the increase will be 4.4% ($66 annually).
“The South Australian climate has led to lead to an extraordinary demand for air conditioning. Over 90% of homes are air conditioned with the air-conditioned floor space of these homes increasing each year. The consequent high peak network demand occurs for only a small part of the year,” says SA Power Networks.
“Extremely ‘peaky’ conditions such as these heatwaves require network assets and capacity that is under-utilised during much of the year, driving distribution costs higher on a per unit of energy served basis than comparable interstate networks.”
According to SA Opposition spokesman for Energy, Martin Hamilton-Smith, South Australian households already face the highest electricity prices in the country, with the average annual bill in SA at $2335.
South Australia already has very high solar uptake – more than 29% of eligible dwellings in Adelaide have solar panels installed. The news of this latest sting will likely push more households towards generating their own electricity.
Energy Matters’ Australian Solar Index indicates solar power installations in South Australia are one of the state’s best investments. An installation in Adelaide provides an estimated internal rate of return of 19.1%.
A 4.5kW system installed in Adelaide can provide electricity bills savings of between $1,312 and $2,150 annually. Under Energy Matters’ zero deposit Save As You Go initiative, the monthly repayments can be less than what would be paid during the same period for mains grid supplied electricity.
One of the other many benefits of going solar is that it helps to reduce the “peaky” conditions described by SA Power Networks as power is generated at the point of consumption. Without the influence of solar, price rises may be even higher. At one point during a heatwave in January this year, the state’s solar power systems contributed over 9% to meeting power demand.
