Consumers must play a role in reducing their electricity bills, the government says.
Electricity privatisation has delivered big nest eggs for various state governments – but the NSW government’s $A13 billion privatisation price tag risks being undermined by an election pledge and the recent UBS controversy.
Dmitry Melnikov from www.shutterstock.com
Electricity privatisations have been like golden geese, providing A$37 billion to Australian state governments since 1992. But the price for NSW’s privatisation risks being undercut by two key events.
There are many misleading claims about what happens after electricity privatisation – including the impact on prices and on jobs.
Paul Miller/AAP
Both sides of the electricity privatisation debate are guilty of cherry-picking so-called “facts” to suit their campaigns, rather than presenting the real story to voters.
Rising gas prices, driven by the development of Queensland’s exports, could end up driving domestic customers away.
AAP Image/Dave Hunt
Gas developers have been ominously warning of impending gas shortages in New South Wales, with official forecasts from planning authorities pointing to steady or rising demand. Yet our analysis suggests…
Peak power use is also a busy time for young families.
Nico Cavallotto/Flickr
A key plank of the Australian Government’s draft energy policy is to reform electricity pricing so that it more accurately reflects rises and falls in peak demand. New tariffs, such as time-of-use (TOU…
Motorists in the United States and elsewhere have been treated to low prices. Whether they will bounce back is another question.
EPA/CJ Gunther/AAP
Late in 2014, we saw iron ore and coal prices fall. Now we are seeing oil prices tumble, dipping to less than US$50 a barrel, half the price of a year ago. In all cases, these price collapses reflect the…
Falling demand and prices are leaving no incentive to invest in Australia’s electricity sector.
Indigo Skies Photography /Flickr
There’s been much talk about how uncertainty over the future of the Renewable Energy Target (RET) is affecting the renewable energy industry. Investment in renewable energy is at its lowest level since…
Should you be paying for big energy users?
Bill image from www.shutterstock.com
The federal government has now achieved passage of its Direct Action plan through the Senate. Some wheeling and dealing with the cross-benches was required of course – but while the government may oppose…
Energy prices are rising, and it hasn’t gone unnoticed that the profits of the handful of large energy supply companies are rising too. While it can be argued that there is no direct causal relationship…
Third time lucky: after a deal between Clive Palmer (right) and his Senate PUPs with the government, the carbon tax has finally been repealed.
Alan Porritt/AAP
UPDATED THURSDAY 17 JULY, 11:20am: Australia’s “carbon tax” has been axed – so what does it mean for you and for Australia? We asked Conversation readers to tell us on Facebook and Twitter what questions…
While Australians love Michael Leunig’s whimsical ducks, there’s another ‘duck’ pushing your power bills higher.
Used with permission from Michael Leunig
Rooftop solar power has slashed Australians’ demand for electricity during the day, but left evening peak power demand largely unchanged. That’s why, as strange as it may sound, we now need to behead a…
Better appliances and energy-efficiency rules saved Australians more than A$3 billion on electricity last year alone.
Shutterstock
The latest review of Australia’s energy-saving appliance scheme has delivered a rare trifecta: a good news story for the economy, the community and the environment. According to my estimates from data…
Cooling towers at Yallourn, one of Victoria’s major brown coal power generators.
Flickr/ccdoh1
Australia’s Renewable Energy Target looks likely to be weakened or even axed, with the Prime Minister saying the scheme needs to be reviewed because it is causing “pretty significant price pressure”. But…
From Australia to the world. Rising LNG exports threaten domestic industry and climate action.
Flickr/kenhodge13
What is the future of Australia’s gas reserves? While it might be good news for the gas industry, increasing international demand could see gas prices in Australia rise, driving up the cost of electricity…
Workers assemble air conditioners at a factory in China earlier this year.
EPA/SHEPHERD ZHOU CHINA OUT
With temperatures starting to climb, it’s time to think about how we will stay cool this summer. The stakes are getting higher when it comes to hot weather. As the Australian Medical Association has warned…
Restructuring the market is harder than it looks.
David Cheskin/PA
With high energy prices all anyone can talk about this winter, Ofgem’s interim chief Andrew Wright appeared before MPs today to defend the regulator’s performance. Predictably, he was met with some hostile…
Would you buy a used energy market from these people?
PA
The impending third reading of the Energy Bill in the UK’s House of Lords marks the final stage of a long and intensive review process for legislation designed to overhaul the UK’s energy market. The question…
Community activists in Boulder, Colorado rally outside Xcel Energy’s Valmont coal plant.
Flickr: 350.org
Ed Langham, University of Technology Sydney e Chris Cooper, University of Technology Sydney
Around the world, people concerned about global warming and wary of higher energy costs are turning away from big power distributors in favour of local and “distributed” energy technologies and services…
How much will getting rid of the carbon price save households?
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
With the government introducing legislation to repeal the carbon price today, people might be wondering how much they will benefit from reduced cost of living. The government has continued to claim that…
Who’ll switch on to time-of-use tariffs now we have the choice?
55Laney69/Flickr
In Victoria, households now have the option to take up time of use tariffs - if they do, they’ll pay more for electricity during peak times, and less off-peak. Taking up the tariffs will be voluntary and…