Prices Sways Fiercely as Number of Renewable Rises

SMH reported that the growth in renewable energy like wind farms in South Australia has left households with high electricity bills as power companies implement with a round of steep prices.

AGL, the dominant power supplier in the South Australian market is hiking their charges by 10%-12% starting this July, which is way ahead of the 7% rise carried out by Origin Energy. EnergyAustralia will be outlining its new tariffs later this week. This compares with price rises of around 8%-10% in New South Wales.

As the Victorian government has raised the target for renewable energy to supply the quarter of the state’s needs by 2020 and 40% by the year 2025, the experiment happening in South Australia is proving beneficial.

The surging power has pushed households to install solar panels and South Australia has led the way with more than ¼ of  household purchasing and investing in solar panels which is around 2x Victoria’s rate and well ahead of the estimated 10% of households in New South Wales, this is according to the data from the Australian Energy Market Commission

According to Ross Womersley, Executive director of the South Australian Council for Social Services, the people with money are the ones can do it and install solar panels and they will be ok. He said that the people they worry about can’t afford to make that investment and will be left staying with the grid at increasingly expensive prices.

David Rylah, Energy Action’s trading and pricing manager said that South Australian experience points out what may unravel in Victoria as it pushes further into using renewable energy. He also added that Victoria wants increased renewable so people can deduce that brown coal generator may come to an end of their economic life.

Large base load power generators permit electricity retailers to commit to supplying household and businesses at competitive prices. Late last year, the electricity wholesale price in South Australia spiked to more than $100/MWh of electricity. And recently settling at around $80, which is way up the level of around $45 in Victoria.

In New South Wales and Queensland, process are high again at around $50-$52 and over $60 respectively. Which is a conflicting fact, given that the electricity generation market is over-supplied.

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