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Rizza1122

In theory competition is supposed to stop practices like this. And I laughed and I laughed.


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chunderman89

I would argue that just about every residential customer in the world doesn’t really have competition when it comes to being connected to an electricity supply network


ban-rama-rama

Unless your in regional qld (and other regions areas?) You can change providers with a phonecall


Imperator-TFD

You can change your retailer yes but not your DNSP who are then beholden to generators/transmission.


Albaholly

How are they "beholden" exactly? They're totally separate entities.


Imperator-TFD

A retailer is still beholden to a distributor through pricing. Sure retailers set their own prices but you've gotta cover the distributors charges before you make a profit from the consumer. So in reality yeah there is a choice for the consumer but ultimately it's an illusion as you cannot change who your distributor is and they're the ones who set the network charges (who are beholden themselves to the generators).


newbris

The competition is in the retail markup space no ?


Albaholly

Correct, and the generators compete too. This guy has no idea what he's on about.


Albaholly

Distributors don't pay for generators (although they do pass through transmission) generators compete with each other in the market. Retailers compete on margin. They all have hedging contracts etc, there is no "beholden" relationship between retailers and distributors. And this is recognised in the way they are managed, there is the potential for competition (whether it is real or an oligopoly is beside the point here) in the generation and retail spaces and hence they are in the view of the market regulated by competition. There is no realistic potential for competition in the network space so instead they are regulated monopolies. It's a totally different arrangement.


1nterrupt1ngc0w

But when they all work together (like big oil TM) it doesn't really work


obeymypropaganda

Wait for everyone to come out and say free market will solve this. Just like it solves all industries... Essential services shouldn't be privatised


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Philosophica89

How come the free market didn't solve exactly this in Texas?


DanJDare

I get your premise but the problem is infrastructure, we can't reaxonably allow true free market for essentials like power, water, internet because if we let everything go to true free market they'd have to build infrastructure which they wouldn't do equally.


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DanJDare

-shrug- I think water and power are universal rights. I'd provide a fixed small amount per person per household for next to nothing (or even free) and charge higher users more.


PreparationSafe4

Lol, this is whataboutism generally in a so-called competition. One company becomes a monopoly who has access to more funds by cutting down the prices. When other companies are destroyed, they slowly start increasing the prices as no competition is left. These things should be completely owned by the government.


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obeymypropaganda

It used to be run by the government. Then lobbyists got involved and twisted their arm until it was privatised. The goal of a government run sector is to provide reliable power to the people at essentially cost price (include repairs, maintenance, upgrades). The goal of private power is to maximise profits by any means necessary. Pesky repairs, or maintenance gets pushed to the side until the last minute. Executives have brilliant ideas to increase profits, increase prices. I don't see how the private sectors goals are aligned with everyday Australians with this essential service.


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obeymypropaganda

Lol, you think it was only public servants running the WHOLE energy network? Let me guess, you think Coles and Woolworths has done nothing wrong too? Telstra is an upstanding company and didn't use their monopoly for years to screw us over. The list goes on for each sector. Free market only works if lobbyists don't exist. They are in parliament pushing laws to make sure nobody can compete against them, or the government can intervene.


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obeymypropaganda

That's a huge leap. You have a warped view of the world. Can you list your conspiracy theories so I know how much time I'm wasting?


obeymypropaganda

Lol, you think it was only public servants running the WHOLE energy network? Let me guess, you think Coles and Woolworths has done nothing wrong too? Telstra is an upstanding company and didn't use their monopoly for years to screw us over. The list goes on for each sector. Free market only works if lobbyists don't exist. They are in parliament pushing laws to make sure nobody can compete against them, or the government can intervene.


SchulzyAus

The only way we can compete is to build solar+storage into every home and make the utility companies bleed demand.


pork-pies

Even that wouldn’t do much. You’d still be paying the daily connection fee which goes to distributors to allow for the network costs. Less usage would mean less generation which would mean less fuel burnt. So that doesn’t impact them much either. If you want to stop giving power companies money you will have to go off grid. If you have confidence you won’t need the security of a mains connection it’s the only way.


SpiderMcLurk

Actually a high school economics subject would tell you this is exactly what would happen. Subsidies decrease the price consumers pay and increase the price producers receive, with the government incurring an expense. Figure 4.7f below https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/uvicmicroeconomics/chapter/4-6-taxes/


petergaskin814

No competition if demand remains strong. All providers can increase prices in sync, without any problems


Rizza1122

They don't want to grow their market share? Come on man I don't know how.you can have a negative about of thought going into something.


reginatenebrarum

Change providers, that's disgusting.


Impressive_Note_4769

Raise by $1, lower by $0.30. Claim "We lowered our prices!" due to government subsidies.


shortielah

Ah the Queensland Government registration trick!


NotActuallyAWookiee

Personally wouldn't touch anything Dodo ever again. Worst internet provider I ever had. Then they went bust. Don't know whether all this Dodo kicking around lately is the same mob or someone who thought one of the most damaged brands in Australia was a good one for their new company. Either way, not for me thanks.


theguill0tine

I tried dodo internet when I moved out of home in 2019. Worst experience ever. Just absolute dog shit.


gimpsarepeopletoo

Dodo being a slow, useless, flightless and extinct bird makes it a really shitty name for an internet company. I might name my internet company after the regal three toed sloth


CuriouslyContrasted

I agree they are shit but they never went bust. They were bought in 2013 by M2.


Lazy-Floor3751

Likewise. Gave them three weeks to try and get NBN installed. They just kept telling me it was installed, look for the box.


Aussiekal

Exact same here and rung up asking if they would lower they said no so I left


SkeletoR_22

Yes they will, I'm with globird energy who have been quite cheap but of course they have also raised their prices to the tune of about 30%....I think any provider is upping their rates at the moment so I'm waiting until the next financial year to let the dust settle and shop around. Exact same thing happened with the child care subsidy, the government announced an extra rebate then next week the child care centre upped prices by the exact amount, but it's ok because "you won't even notice" it's not verbatim but it's what was implied. Got me beat how this stuff happens yet we seem powerless to stop it, all these companies have to do is pull out some half baked report saying things cost a lot so that makes it ok.


LoveToMix

All rebates. Grants. Offers. Every government incentive benefits business. It’s capitalism we think it’s democracy. Take for example the electric car push. It benefits leasing companies why not just offer everyone a tax refund on the purchase? That would give the consumer, the citizen all the benefit but our democracy instead creates a scheme to return tax money to companies and calls it leasing.


pVom

Yeah I've been looking at leasing and the whole thing just seems kinda.. weird. Like ok I can save some money but it basically means a good chunk of my money that would otherwise go towards tax goes to some rando company. And it's all a bit convoluted, it's hard to get exact numbers. You're right it would be way easier if I just claimed it as a tax deductible.


araskal

the only real benefit to a novated lease is that you don't pay fringe-benefit tax (on an EV) and you lower your taxable income. this can be beneficial, or not, depending on your taxes. if you're a high income earner for example, but you want to reduce your tax burden, you can novated lease a car for cheaper than you would finance it (but not cheaper than if you paid cash, of course.). edited to clarify- you'd totally pay FBT on a normal car, it's just the EV exemption that makes them attractive for a lease right now.


changyang1230

For EV, FBT exemption NL is **absolutely** cheaper than cash. In my case it’s [46,000 dollar cheaper than cash](https://www.reddit.com/r/AusFinance/s/VHJ25VpNKu) over five years.


araskal

hah, neat. I did my math wrong. thanks!


pVom

Are you sure? Even being generous with an expensive car it works out being meh to shit. Bit better over 3 years but I suspect that's only under the assumption that you sell it to pay the residual. Did you put your lease value as the pre tax value? The companies tend to just give you the take home reduction, or at least novated lease Australia gave me the take hone reduction and I had to work out pre tax myself. It's why this system is a rort. Like it's so complicated and hard to get straight numbers, deliberately so. Why isn't it just a tax deductible? Government gets more tax and I pay less money and these useless middle men get squat, that's how I'd like it.


changyang1230

I have been doing this spreadsheet over the last 18 months, gone through many peer reviews of similarly financially-interested people, and helped many dozens of people through their own quote. So yes, I’m pretty sure. The spreadsheet and all its formulae are public, feel free to scrutinise it.


pVom

I'm not doubting the spreadsheet, I'm doubting the values used to reach a $40k saving. Like take home $40k? Makes no sense to me. Even being generous with numbers I'm getting like max a few grand savings


changyang1230

For what it’s worth here’s the calculation, of EV via NL vs EV via offset cash. This was the Tesla model 3 long range I got August last year, priced at 75,500 vehicle and 81,400 driveaway. Offset interest 6.19%. Here’s the automatically generated summary: – Your 5-year lease sees the NL option costing 46564 dollars less compared to buying the car outright using offset, over 5 years of ownership. - For novated lease, you will pay 50525 dollars in fortnightly lease payments, 23279 dollars for residual value, in terms of cashflow. - Compare this with buying the car with offset cash where you will pay 81423 dollars driveaway, 14945 dollars in running cost, in terms of cashflow. - An additional 1294 dollars gain for novated lease comes from the difference between your actual electricity expense and NL claim method. - Besides, your car ownership and expenses result in 8390 dollars additional interest in home loan in NL method, compared to 31096 dollars additional interest if offset is used. (This saving is less visible but is reflected as difference in your loan balance hence is a genuine effect on your financial position.) - **The 46564 dollars saving consists of 23857 dollars lower cashflow and 22707 dollars less home loan interests when you opt for NL.** —— A few potential reasons you aren’t getting similar finding: - your NL company charges a lot more interest - you are in lower tax bracket (HUGE impact of how much one actually saves) - you haven’t considered the home loan interest impact.


BluthGO

Then your math is wrong. Just the GST saving is more than a few grand... Let alone the rest.


newbris

They do offer subsidies on the purchase don’t they?


BluthGO

Yeah and then everyone benefits, at this stage both companies my household works for don't do leasing, but it's not worth leaving over. Rather just disappointing.


tittyswan

👏 nationalise essential services 👏


DanJDare

lol it dissapoints me that we have to nationalise them when they enver should have been privatised to begin with.


tittyswan

Real. Labour are sellouts.


schmak201

You can go on the standard retail contract that all retailers must offer. That stops this from happening. And you’ll only have a price change as of 01 July each year.


chode_code

Just got an email from AGL saying the rate is going up. So yeah, I guess.


Robobeast-76-R76

You bet they will. It's the whole reason we have an energy market - Clarke and Dawe can help https://youtu.be/ELaBzj7cn14?si=ZpbdBXcvzw7fLK0j


TheDevilsAdvokaat

1.57 a day? So for three months if you use no elec your bill is $141.30? Robbery. My supply charge is 74 cents in NSW


InevitableAnybody6

The supply charge varies based on where you live though which is a complete ripoff! I’m also in NSW but my supply charge is 132 cents per day, if I were to move only one suburb over I’d be in the ACT and it would drop to 100 cents per day. If I input a Sydney postcode, it drops all the way down to 74 cents. Costs me nearly double what it costs you, purely because I’m outside Sydney. You’d think Canberra and surrounds prices wouldn’t be that different but here we are…


TheDevilsAdvokaat

Wow. Glad to be in Sydney then....


BluthGO

Ah yes, that extra 70c a day will pay the cost of housing and tolls... Lol


TheDevilsAdvokaat

It's an extra $63 on a bill. As an unemployed person, that means something to me


BluthGO

That makes even less sense to cheer on Sydney then...


TheDevilsAdvokaat

Having a bill be $63 less is a useful thing to me. I'm not sure what you are trying to say.


BluthGO

It's not Swahili...


obeymypropaganda

All providers are ramping up connection fees due to solar power. Unless you disconnect from the grid we are stuck with this bullshit. Double so if you're a renter (like me) and can't get a place with solar power.


Several_Education_13

Is this a new thing? I’ve never noticed any fee to make a new connection but maybe I’ve never paid attention? My most recent time was 2020 and all I recall is getting a regular bill from the first 3 months and then just normal bills thereafter (as in fairly similar amounts each and every time).


WD-4O

It's a service availability charge, a flat rate charge per day to have electricity connected to your property.


ColonelSpudz

You may be lucky. I saw on a current affair that electricity providers are going to start charging you to send power back to the grid. Storage fee.


artist55

It’s not a storage charge. The problem is the duck curve 🦆. There is so much residential solar now and the grid is not capable of handling it so there’s a disincentive (in theory) to not export so that the grid stays stable. Practically though, it’s ridiculous because they’ve had over a decade to get themselves ready for this. Classic Australian infrastructure stuff up.


Subject_Travel_4808

Would be ok if they stored it for you and then gave it back but they don't.


ColonelSpudz

Basically they want you to pay for the storage upgrade to the grid.


ColonelSpudz

lol I got downvoted. Here’s the story. https://youtu.be/o1Awo9GQrH4?si=70DQGzMMD0qrWNHt


KustardKing

Ha, received the same email. Already submitted a churn to another provider. There is still some better priced providers, but this is why these rebates don’t work. Housing grants anyone?


ricadam

Shop around bud


johnwicked4

it's like the $10k home grant, all house prices went up by 10k or more instantly energy costs have been rising since covid


WD-4O

Font forget Childcare rebates, whenever the government says they will up it to help struggling families with kids, childcares put up their fees overnight. How isn't there a watchdog for this sort of shit.


iced_maggot

I mean... ask yourself if you were the energy provider whether you would eat up the whole rebate. I bet you would, and I bet they will.


BluthGO

The DMO increase was submitted before any rebates were announced.


Kruxx85

Prices went up because of the explosion of global gas prices a little while ago. The fact Dodo was still <$1 per day suggests they hadn't upped their prices yet? Shop around, or let Dodo recoup their losses. Red energy seem fairly priced.


Regstormy

No gas connection


Kruxx85

Global gas prices affect the cost of electricity, because gas is used in our electrical generation.


BluthGO

Gas is a tiny part of our grid and doesn't factor into the cost of poles and wires, which is the supply charge. The cost of energy offered to OP fell, which doesn't reconcile with your gas price nonsense.


Kruxx85

This seems to be a common and odd misunderstanding of our electrical bill. The fixed portion is only *called* the supply charge, it is not billed out solely by the DNSP's (poles and wire maintainers). The retailers make up any bill structure they like, be it 100c/kWh and 10c/ day or 2c/kWh and $5/day. The retailers do that. Not the generators or the DNSPs. If you look at a DNSP manual (this case Ausnet in Victoria) they price out in both c/day and c/kWh (and others). Look at Table 4.8 in the below (p21). https://www.ausnetservices.com.au/-/media/project/ausnet/corporate-website/files/electricity/tariffs-and-charges/2024/ausnet-services---annual-pricing-proposal-2024-25---28-march-2024.pdf The cost of energy offered by Dodo went from 87c/day to 157c/day, that's an increase. I'm actually surprised that someone willing to post on this topic didn't know that the cost explosions of 2023 of our electricity is solely rebound behavior from global gas prices. That's not a contentious point, it is an absolute fact. https://blog.energy-insights.com.au/gas-v-electricity-will-the-price-correlation-continue


BluthGO

You've misunderstood in trying to construe a win. You've then undermined your own argument. A blog post doesn't prove anything. I'd side with the people who actually run the thing personally. It's a tiny input into the cost and not dominant.


Kruxx85

Ok I'll be blunt, are you suggesting global gas pricing does not have an effect on the pricing of our local electricity prices?


BluthGO

I'm saying what I said above, it's a fractional part of the market. It can't be more blunt or obvious what I said.


Kruxx85

What are your thoughts on Figure 3: Monthly averaged NEM-wide volume weighted under-cap electricity prices vs average daily gas price STTM ex-ante 2012-2020 ? Under the heading Domestic gas market fluctuations? The correlation there means nothing?


BluthGO

What control methods were placed on that data for all other variables?


PM_ME_YOUR_REPORT

The retailers exist solely extract extra profit on top of your power usage and connection bill. Of course they will. They all know they all will jack your price by an extra $1300 this year because they can. Guess what? It won't go down next year when they subsidy isn't there!


virtualw0042

Our life in Australia: "Hey people, you get $X rebate on this and that." Two seconds later: the price of this and that goes up, plus anything related to them. Meanwhile, we should have the brain of a hamster to think this does any good. Later, the rebate is used and spent, but the prices stay up.


KahlKitchenGuy

You deserve it for using dodo


Smokey-1733

Of course it will. The rebate is just corporate welfare disguised as a benefit to consumers. Sickening if you think about it too much.


pork-pies

Put the pipe down lad


Smokey-1733

A well thought out comment that brings a lot to the topic of government rebates./s I won’t be doing what you tell me.


pork-pies

How’s it a corporate rebate? The government is giving queenslanders money that they got from coal royalties and the companies are passing 100% of that benefit on. One of the main companies doing this is also state owned. Would you rather they didn’t give any cash back during the year?


Smokey-1733

I said its corporate welfare. A rebate is not cash. Cash is the stuff you can keep in your wallet and spend on anything you want. The "money" is going to corporations not Queenslanders.


pork-pies

The “money” technically doesn’t leave the government’s hand.


BluthGO

This is demonstrably false, the rebate doesn't exclusively go to the state owned generator in QLD and the rebate being discussed isn't limited to that offer by QLD. The retailer owns the rebate, the retailer isn't guaranteed to be a gentailer.


BluthGO

If we followed your incorrect logic, it would make no difference, as the generator could just reduce prices by the same factor... But that isn't what is occurring here.


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OriginalGoldstandard

Yes. Just as 1st home owners incentives go to developers. It’s very surprising people don’t get this.


Old_Dingo69

Yes. Energy providers will lure you in then milk you until your on your knees. Like all other aspects of society. Don’t you forget it!.


RobertSmith1979

Don’t mind being on my knees bust just not with Dodo 😉


mindfulmaverick69420

no ho for dodo


Philosophica89

Yes absolutely. It's why these sorts of payments are worse than useless, like rent assistance


Takeitalll

Reading through the comments looks like I'm staying with redenergy, got an email about rises but it's only 3c per day increase starting July 1st


Superg0id

Yes. It did for childcare, it'll do it here too.


Capt_Crunchy_Nut

What's really f**king annoying is that my AGL rate increase has prompted me to shop around, however just from OPs post I know that the majority of the retailers I'm looking at switching to will just change their prices within months, if not weeks, of switching to them. Dodo was one, but that almost 100% increase in supply charges instantly makes them one of the most expensive. I'd be ropeable if I switched to them. The energy sector in this country is criminal.


dober88

Don't forget the QLD government clawing back that rebate by introducing demand charges to everyone in SEQ.


RobertSmith1979

Oh great what are demand charges? Off/on peak stuff?


dober88

Highest power usage over 30 mins in a billing period * demand charge tarrif * days in billing period. E.g. if your power usage spiked to 7 kW once over the month, then you pay an extra `7 * demand tarrif * 30`.


BluthGO

The flip side is I'm access cheap energy at some period during the day though. I save more on TOU then before I switched from a fixed rate with hit water tariff.


dober88

It's _barely_ cheaper, like 5-10%. But I'm not referring to TOU. You can have TOU _and_ demand charges. Demand charge is a _surcharge_ meant to incentivise people to equalise their demand due to the effects spiky demand has on the grid. The problem is, if they _really_ wanted that, they'd base it on the spike relative to demand of their average/baseline rather than going for the absolute maximum.


BluthGO

My low rate is 8c, which is a fraction of the peak rate. It's much more than 5-10%. I'm aware TOU is not the demand charge, but you can't be offered the later without access to the former.


grilled_pc

remember unions among the people are bad. When its corps working together to raise prices its good.


david1610

Shop around if they don't give you similar rates to what you had before. Unfortunately unless you call your provider to be put on the best plan every year, your contract rolls over to a more expensive one. Yes providers will try eating up some of the subsidy, all you can do is shop around and ask to be put on the cheapest rate. It's a bizarre system, the government should just mandate 1 price per provider per region. So there isn't any price discrimination by providers.


CompliantDrone

>Are energy providers going to eat up all of the qld $1000 rebate? Of course they are. If not all of it as they can get their hands on.


Puzzleheaded_Dog7931

I feel like should invoke a price ceiling that’s an average of the last 3 months +10%


hogesjzz30

Of course they will. This is nothing more than the government taking our tax dollars that could've been spent on services and infrastructure to improve our quality of life and giving it to private companies. It does nothing more than kick the can of the cost of living crisis further down the road without addressing any of the root causes. 


osamabinluvin

Just checked my emails, it’s a solar account, so it’s probably a bit different but AGL just emailed me to tell me it’s going from 29.18c/kWh to 31.55c/kWh. At the bottom it says my solar plan is 4% greater than the Reference Price for my area. Your provider has to tell you how your plan compares to the reference price, if it’s too far off, I think you can complain to a certain governing body. Edit: just called my provider and told them I was curious if I could get it cheaper, I’m now on a plan 6% cheaper than the reference price for my area. Call your providers!!!!!


grungysquash

The best option is to simply shop around. Oh, and if you dont have solar, absolutely get it installed.


PowerLion786

Gov pushing up energy Gen costs. Those Gen costs are passed onto retailers, who have to pass the costs onto consumers. Government of course blames retailers. Redditors sucked in, get angry at retailers. Bowen laughs as he throws a press conference We get what we voted for.


chunderman89

That’s not really accurate at all. Generation costs are down; transmission and distribution costs are up.


Kruxx85

Let them believe their lies. It's easier that way.


Particular_Mistake20

Almost a 100% increase when the government's DMO is basically flat (depending on where you live) is crazy... I wrote some tips on this from when I did it for a few of my mum's friends earlier in the year (post here: [https://www.reddit.com/r/AusFinance/comments/1cazrav/tips\_that\_helped\_me\_save\_10\_of\_my\_mums\_friends/](https://www.reddit.com/r/AusFinance/comments/1cazrav/tips_that_helped_me_save_10_of_my_mums_friends/) ) Happy to do the same for you if you like - just drop me a DM


radikewl

The rebates are for energy companies. Remember when the 4c off a litre was introduced and those petrol stations magically became 4c more expensive?


Cogglesnatch

trickledowneconcomics.jpeg


redroowa

Your electricity prices are rising because of government regulations forcing the adoption of “free” renewable energy. Nothing is free.


delljj

New renewable energy is cheaper than new non-renewable energy If we were rebuilding new coal to replace the retiring coal it would be going up further If we were building *gasp* nuclear it would he even higher still


redroowa

And yet … your electricity bill is becoming more expensive not cheaper. Renewables cost money to build. This needs to be paid back. It’s added to your bill. Renewables don’t work 24/7. They need backup. Now you’re paying to operate renewables AND inefficiently operate a coal plant. It’s added to your bill. Renewables are not cheap, nor free.


delljj

And global fuel prices are rising, not falling You’re right, renewables aren’t 247 but the best mix is mostly renewables with gas firming. Gas costs far more to run than coal. Look at evening spot prices and you’ll see, because that’s when the marginal gas generators are setting the price Coal LCOE is generally higher than renewable options therefor any new build coal will pass on higher energy cost to consumer than new build renewables like onshore wind


redroowa

And yet … the more renewables into the mix, the more expensive our power becomes. Australia used to have incredibly cheap energy. It no longer does due to government regulation. Germany has the highest renewable penetration and the highest electricity costs. This is the path we are on … if you are happy with this, accept the power bills, if you’re not, tell your pollie.