I was curious to chart the recent reduction in electricity costs due to the Carbon Tax being abolished. Funny that the reduction looks less than the increase in cost in mid 2012 when the Carbon Tax was introduced.
While digging into this it was even funnier to find media from the ACT Minister Simon Corbell 10th May 2012 saying “…new laws to be introduced to the Legislative Assembly today will help lower gas and electricity prices in Canberra.”
The Canberra Times had already hyperventilated with the headline – Plan to slash ACT power bills – Noel Towell – March 14, 2012 – What do they smoke over there?
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I am still wondering where Minister Corbell’s lower prices are – there was an ACT election in October 2012. The chart shows that the onset of the Carbon Tax in July 2012 marked the start of a period of greater price increases.
This chart showing the prices as indices makes it clear that the Supply charge has been increased at a faster rate than the power charges.
Warwick, have you sent a copy of these charts to Mr Corbell? I would be interested to hear what his reply ( excuse ) is on this matter. Thanks for all your good work.
Regards
Ian Middleton
I intend to Ian – just at present I have to digest the many pages that the Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission has recently published on the subject. Amazing the bureaucracy for a population under 400K.
This SMH article on 8 August makes the point –
Reduced demand is powering a deepening electricity surplus across Australia
– You would not think so looking at ACT power bills.
Remember the ACT Govt (Canberra city council) has legislated for 90% renewables by 2020. I think that explains why at a time of electricity glut – the ACT will continue to experience an ever increasing upward spiral in power bills. We have to wait until 2016 for the next election.
Some points worth making about ACT electricity costs and charges. The ACT electricity establishment likes to make the point the ACT charges are the cheapest in Australia – as Minister Corbell does in the Canberra Times
“Mr Corbell said that ACT prices were still the cheapest in the country, and an average $1000 less than in Queanbeyan.”
That is true but is due to the ACT being such a miniscule area to administer the network over compared to the vast areas covered by transmission lines in New South Wales.
The Dec 2013 report – 2013 Residential Electricity Price Trends – by the Australian Energy Market Commission has some informative graphics –
Pages 78 & 89 have tables of NSW and ACT supply chain costs which shows that NSW network costs are 16.5-17.5c per kWh compared to only 8-9c in the ACT. This puts claims by ACT authorities of supplying the cheapest power in Australia in true perspective.
The same Dec 2013 report – 2013 Residential Electricity Price Trends has Fig 2.6 below which demonstrates substantial spot price falls in the National Electricity Market (NEM) from 2008 to current times – the period the ACT electricty bills have risen substantially.