Australia has the most expensive energy bills • Hacker News Board

Re: Australia has the most expensive energy bills

#41

Post by martalist » Mon, Jun 19, 2017, 1:31 AM UTC

dwhitworth1 wrote: post #2

I moved to Newcastle, Australia from the US (Los Angeles) about two years ago. I was shocked when I received my energy bill. Australians in general are hesitant to use their AC or electric heaters, opting to just layer up when it's cold or try to use fans in the summer. Many (most?) households don't have clothes dryers, using clotheslines instead. I would like to see how much energy the average Australian household c…

>Many (most?) households don't have clothes dryers, using clotheslines instead.

We have a clothes dryer in our home (in Australia), and have used it about once a year over the last 10 years. Usually only in an "emergency". Generally speaking it's always warm enough to dry laundry naturally here, which is why dryers are not so common.

> opting to just layer up when it's cold or try to use fans in the summer.

Insulation in Australian homes is generally terrible. I wish it were different. But I have rarely seen people hesitate to use a heater or AC.

Re: Australia has the most expensive energy bills

#42

Post by Overtonwindow » Mon, Jun 19, 2017, 1:32 AM UTC

NamTaf wrote: post #32

Overtonwindow wrote: post #24

Sort of on-topic but I recall once an Australian company called Enviromission that was wanting to build solar updraft towers in the outback. With so much incredibly solar-rich, un-used land, I thought Australia would've gone all in for solar by now.

You greatly underestimate how utterly devoid of morals both of our major parties are, resulting in them being in the pocket of the coal miners and other big corps. They are almost militantly opposed to non-coal, non-LNG investment. This is a government which earlier this year brought a lump of coal in to parliament as a prop to say that they were 'not afraid of coal' and to attack the opposition for 'attacking the jo…

That is unfortunate. I spent a month living in Ryde and I fell absolutely in love with Australia. I agree, as Bill Bryson once said: "It may truly be the greatest place on earth." Hopefully things sort itself out soon.

Re: Australia has the most expensive energy bills

#43

Post by manicdee » Mon, Jun 19, 2017, 1:33 AM UTC

rayiner wrote: post #3

> And basically, they stuffed that up for consumers by deciding to let the networks earn a guaranteed rate of return, based on their costs. That is, the more they spent, the more they earned. This is an ignorant criticism. Every way of structuring utility markets has one problem or the other. If you deregulate the market, you end up with limited competition because of high barriers to entry. If you set rates to guara…

This gold plating cost-plus work in Australia was about the Government funding infrastructure improvements without checking the demand forecasts. The network has been built for doubling of demand, even as demand is dropping due to customers using more efficient devices all the way from TVs to HVAC.

Re: Australia has the most expensive energy bills

#44

Post by nimchimpsky » Mon, Jun 19, 2017, 1:33 AM UTC

andybak wrote: post #6

There's an old joke where in Heaven the cooks are French, the policemen are English, the mechanics are German, the lovers are Italian and the bankers are Swiss - whereas in Hell the cooks are English, the policemen are German, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss and the bankers are Italian. I'm pondering an updated version where in hell the healthcare system is American, the energy market is Australian...…

The policemen are english ? Eh, why is that a thing, never heard that before.

I've heard similar but it was organising a party ...

Good party : Germans organise English music French food Belgians beer

Bad : Belgians organize English food french music germans beer.

Wait german beer is quite nice, well you get the idea.

Re: Australia has the most expensive energy bills

#45

Post by flukus » Mon, Jun 19, 2017, 1:34 AM UTC

JonRB wrote: post #10

dwhitworth1 wrote: post #2

I moved to Newcastle, Australia from the US (Los Angeles) about two years ago. I was shocked when I received my energy bill. Australians in general are hesitant to use their AC or electric heaters, opting to just layer up when it's cold or try to use fans in the summer. Many (most?) households don't have clothes dryers, using clotheslines instead. I would like to see how much energy the average Australian household c…

> Australians in general are hesitant to use their AC or electric heaters Anecdotal, but I don't think I know a single person here who is hesitant to use heating/AC - could just be down to the people I know, but I get funny looks when I tell people just to wrap up. Something that did surprise me here is the near-complete lack of double glazing. Everywhere I've lived has been thin single-glazed windows which just let…

Would double glazing also prevent natural cooling? In Melbourne where the temperature is variable I find the biggest problem is that after a couple of hot days it takes my apartment a day or two to cool down again. I can open the window of course, but often am unable to because of insects and/or not being home.

The worst thing I see across the country is the lack of fly screens with security screens on them. I grew up in a house with them (Southern Queensland) and the were a fantastic and free way to moderate the temperature, you could leave them open all day when it's warm or just during the day during winter and not have to worry about people breaking in.

Re: Australia has the most expensive energy bills

#46

Post by sitharus » Mon, Jun 19, 2017, 1:36 AM UTC

NamTaf wrote: post #25

ontario_sucks wrote: post #14

Hmm. Price per kWh is not really a good way to compare. My last bill in Ontario had about $10 in usage in kWh but on top of that there are mandatory 'delivery' charges which, in my case, amounted to $90. The real rate I pay (before taxes) is essentially 10x the supposed kWh rate. And from the news reports locally, I'm getting off very lightly. My bills are multiples what they were in the UK (for the same usage) and b…

In QLD my rates are as follows, GST included: Supply charge: $1.10/day Usage rate: 28.6c/kWh Therefore, my standard quarterly bill will have $100 of supply charges in addition to any usage that occurs. I am super lucky that I got on to PV when there was a large (unsustainably so) government incentive, so my feed-in rate is 54.6c/kWh (not including GST) which more than offsets my normal use since I am never home durin…

Wow, here in NZ I pay 30c/day in fixed charges and around 25c/kWh. Last week's bill was NZ$25 for 90kWh.

Nowhere near as cheap as the US but I'll take it.

Re: Australia has the most expensive energy bills

#47

Post by chrisper » Mon, Jun 19, 2017, 1:38 AM UTC

dwhitworth1 wrote: post #29

chrisper wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>That said, I much prefer living in Australia to the U.S., especially while raising a family. Why is that?

A number of reasons: 1. Safety. I don't hear gunfire on New Year's Eve, like we used to in L.A. and some places I lived in Orange County as well. Someone getting shot is almost national news here. 2. Government support. If I lost my job I wouldn't have to worry about how to pay for health services. We're a healthy family, but peace of mind is great. 3. Government support. My 7 year old was diagnosed with mild ASD, AD…

Thanks. I will be moving (back) to Europe in a few weeks. I, too, decided like you to put certain pros over salary / career.

Re: Australia has the most expensive energy bills

#48

Post by prawn » Mon, Jun 19, 2017, 1:39 AM UTC

Overtonwindow wrote: post #24

Sort of on-topic but I recall once an Australian company called Enviromission that was wanting to build solar updraft towers in the outback. With so much incredibly solar-rich, un-used land, I thought Australia would've gone all in for solar by now.

Coal/mining too strong here. But yes, it makes sense to me too. There are incredible amounts of flat and unused land out there, baking in the sun.

Re: Australia has the most expensive energy bills

#49

Post by chrisper » Mon, Jun 19, 2017, 1:39 AM UTC

nimchimpsky wrote: post #22

chrisper wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>That said, I much prefer living in Australia to the U.S., especially while raising a family. Why is that?

Food is better, people are friendlier, sunnier, better quality of life, better stuff for kids. Less tax.

Is it really sunnier than Southern California?

Re: Australia has the most expensive energy bills

#50

Post by dwhitworth1 » Mon, Jun 19, 2017, 1:40 AM UTC

askvictor wrote: post #33

dwhitworth1 wrote: post #2

I moved to Newcastle, Australia from the US (Los Angeles) about two years ago. I was shocked when I received my energy bill. Australians in general are hesitant to use their AC or electric heaters, opting to just layer up when it's cold or try to use fans in the summer. Many (most?) households don't have clothes dryers, using clotheslines instead. I would like to see how much energy the average Australian household c…

> Australians in general are hesitant to use their AC or electric heaters, opting to just layer up when it's cold or try to use fans in the summer. Many (most?) households don't have clothes dryers, using clotheslines instead. Are you suggesting these are bad things? I think they're positive however, it varies wildly across different locations and demographics. > I would like to see how much energy the average Austra…

"Are you suggesting these are bad things? I think they're positive however, it varies wildly across different locations and demographics."

I didn't think I suggested these were bad things. Perhaps I was just over-generalising. I was just pointing out (badly) that my observations from living in Newcastle are different than my observations living in Southern California. I agree that they are positive.