by frog
..meters that is. Let’s get smart meters in NZ.
In this week’s podcast Dave Clendon lays out the reasons why they are a good idea.
In the couple of days since this podcast was recorded, big bad Gerry Brownlee has stomped all over a very good idea and laid out the reasons to do nothing.
Round two of the debate here on frogblog later this week. In the meantime, you can check out the podcast.
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Published in Environment & Resource Management by frog on Wed, March 10th, 2010
on the trolls and those who are unable to keep on topic
What I want to know is, how come the news media reports that some people will have higher bills when they get these new meters – apparently because they had been “undercharged”. What does this mean?
How can people have been undercharged?
At the moment many receive estimate bills one month (which can be too high or too low, usually by design of the corporates a little too high) and actual reading bills the next month – so in the end people only pay for the power they use.
It is the habit of power companies (Genesis for one) to offer the new meter to anyone having a problem with the corporates management of their over-charging in the estimate month. I have a complaint with them at the moment (on the way to the Commissioner by the look of it) – the government (Brownlee the Energy Minister) which owns them has, after all, promised us “the consumer” that over-charging of us would end. However, I am sure the SOE’s are under wider government directive to increase their taxable income and dividends and thus there is an inconsistency in the practice of the corporates concerned.
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All the incentives to reduce power bills are already in the home.
Only laziness can be the cause of high power costs.
Applianaces on stand-by, washing clothes in hot water, oil heaters,
spa baths, computers and printers left on 24/7, lights on all over the house, etc. These are the things that gobble up power.
I live in a 2 dwelling situation with one power source and 3 adults.
My annual power usage over the last 12 months is 7250 units.
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genji it’s not that simple.
Wholesale electricity costs different amounts at different times of day, as demand fluctuates. In the past the power retailers had no way to know how much you were using at any given time, only how much you used at the end of the month when they read your meter. So they would buy power in bulk and then spread the cost out among their customers, based on total usage in a month regardless of when it was used in that month.
Now, with smart meters they know when you used the most power, and can charge you more when you are using expensive power and less when you’re using cheap power. So some people will end up paying more, some less depending on the time of day they normally consume power.
Ideally the consumer would know the current price of power and how much they were using at that moment, so they can make an informed purchasing decision and reduce usage at peak times to save money. But with the current roll-out of semi smart meters the chip to provide this information to the consumer is left out. Only the power retailer has the information about current usage and prices.
The playing field is not level. David Clendon’s bill seeks to address this.
Gerry Brownlee claims that the technology is too immature for consumers, yet evidently it’s not too immature for the power companies, so that’s a bit odd… It’s a bit like not buying a computer because in 6 months the computers will be faster.
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Thanks rimu that seems to explain the reason why some will pay more with the new meters.
Perhaps the power companies should inform those with the semi-smart meters some of the parameters they will use for charging – such as when the peak higher charge periods are.
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SPC – the information about high charge periods is already available, but the power companies can only provide historical information. The actual price is determined by the spot markets which react to supply and demand at the time, or more accurately just before the period in question. If the wind blows harder, the price falls. If more users switch on heaters, the price rises.
Trevor.
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Oh, so by that standard then the price of power will become more expensive in winter than in summer. So winter bills will be higher than ever before for those switching to the new meters. This will exacerbate winter affordability issues for some.
Maybe those who struggle with bills might be better off with the old meters and not pay a higher price when they use more power in winter.
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