Why is inexpensive electricity so expensive?

[nomadpete]

I note that although the recent official graphs show a slight decrease in domestic electricity consumption, I think they cannot measure most of the locally consumed rootop solar, so they miss that. In my case, my solar has logged as much power as my street meter consumption, but my bill only showed a third of that going back into the grid.

So nationally, average household power consumption has increased steadily over the years. Of course bills go up.

 

Consumer lifestyle is the real reason for the increased power bills. 

 

[onetrack]

Your power supply reliability is largely determined by the distance your power lines cover to get the power to you - and the terrain. If you choose to live in remote mountainous, or even hilly terrain, expect more blackouts than people in closer to the power generation facilities and in open, more level terrain.

 

Living in Central Perth, I have experienced so few blackouts, it's hard to recall when I last had one. Mostly any blackouts happen after a long dry Summer and dust and salt build up on powerline insulators. Then we get a very moist morning or even a tiny amount of rain, not enough to wash the insulators, and we have "flashovers", where the insulators fail to do their job and the power supply shorts out. A lot of times, flashovers also cause pole crossbar fires, and that makes things even worse.

 

We pay 32c a unit and a $1.16 a day supply charge. 45% of our bill goes to the company that operated, and maintains and manages our power network - Western Power. WP manage over $30 billion worth of assets, including 42,000 transmission towers and 758,000+ distribution poles. Our system is called the South West Interconnected System (SWIS) and it is the biggest totally isolated network in the world, and it covers the most populous areas of S.W. W.A.

 

Currently we have only 3 coal fired generators left supplying our power, and they are slated to close in 2027, 2029 and 2030. Those dates may be extended a little. Those 3 coal fired generators are the most costly power generation in W.A. and have been losing money hand over fist for years.

 

Failed refurbishment of one coal-fired power station here, cost taxpayers over $300M, to get nothing in return, except abandonment of the project, as the power station corrosion problems got bigger and bigger as the project proceeded.

So there's nothing cheap about coal-fired power here in the West. We rely on natural gas power generation (15% of W.A.'s natural gas supplies are reserved for W.A. consumers and businesses), solar, wind, and now big batteries.

By 2030, we will be running on solar, wind, big batteries, and minimal natural gas power generation. Solar power generation via household roofs in W.A. is a massive source of W.A.'s energy, and it is being harnessed via those big batteries.

 

Edited 1 hour ago by onetrack

[facthunter]

 General statement.....36 cents gives you a Horsepower for 1.25 hours & about $300 per annum keeps you connected.  Australia is a Big Place with a lot of wide open spaces to service. Stop whingeing and get on with your life. There's a lot worse things going on out there to be concerned about. Nev

[Siso]

Solar and wind is the cheapest form of electricity but it also needs a lot of backup, extra transmission, storage and artificial inertia which makes the whole package expensive. Snowy 2 was quoted at $4B currently at $12B and they are talking $20B. I know a lot of you won't like the host(some of his views are a bit out there) but his guest has a pretty good explanation of what is really happening. it can be seen by those inside the industry as well.