With no advantages to consumers whatsoever and yet they forced these things onto consumers when the old meters were perfectly adequate for the job.

The only advantages were to the supply companies who no longer had to send people out to read these old meters but we were made to pay for these new meters so greed incorporated could reduce their costs on meter readers.

All of this garbage about reducing electricity costs hasn't eventuated for the consumer. We were had and both sides of government are complicit in this scam :(

Also the old meters gave parity on any feed-in from solar PV systems but the new meters record both incoming and outgoing energy separately so they can offer different tariffs and literally steal energy from the consumers !!

Greed incorporated gets their way again and the governments we vote for, help them :(

Unfortunately for the Solar adopters the price for energy to energy supply companies is very much less than the price they charge consumers.

However, people can connect their Solar systems in such a way as to avoid supplying power back through the energy company's metering system. Eventually Solar system suppliers will evolve smart ways to store and feed back energy in a way that defeats the intentions of the energy companies.

I understand that the cost of electricity generation from brown coal is less than 10c per kWh (might be less with current low coal price). So that's the best they are likely to offer households with Solar systems is 10c minus administration costs. But they are likely to offer less.

http://theconversation.com/factcheck-does-coal-fired-power-cost-79-kwh-and-wind-power-1502-kwh-44956

Quote:

The Electric Power Research Institute (2010) reported estimates of the LCOE of various sources of electricity in Australia, including: coal-fired electricity (without carbon capture and storage) — A$78–91/MWh combined-cycle gas turbines (without carbon capture and storage) — A$97/MWh wind — A$150–214/MWh medium-sized (five megawatt) solar PV systems — A$400–473/MWh.

Unforgiven wrote on Sep 16^th, 2015 at 12:38pm:

Unfortunately for the Solar adopters the price for energy to energy supply companies is very much less than the price they charge consumers. However, people can connect their Solar systems in such a way as to avoid supplying power back through the energy company's metering system. Eventually Solar system suppliers will evolve smart ways to store and feed back energy in a way that defeats the intentions of the energy companies. I understand that the cost of electricity generation from brown coal is less than 10c per kWh (might be less with current low coal price). So that's the best they are likely to offer households with Solar systems is 10c minus administration costs. But they are likely to offer less. http://theconversation.com/factcheck-does-coal-fired-power-cost-79-kwh-and-wind-power-1502-kwh-44956 Quote: The Electric Power Research Institute (2010) reported estimates of the LCOE of various sources of electricity in Australia, including: coal-fired electricity (without carbon capture and storage) — A$78–91/MWh combined-cycle gas turbines (without carbon capture and storage) — A$97/MWh wind — A$150–214/MWh medium-sized (five megawatt) solar PV systems — A$400–473/MWh.

But we end up paying 25 cents per kWh !! Why ??

They say it's for maintenance but they are also charging an additional $100 for the maintenance on the bill and then they pay us a measly 6 cents per kWh for the feed-in so we are being robbed. :(

Sir lastnail wrote on Sep 16^th, 2015 at 1:20pm:

Unforgiven wrote on Sep 16th, 2015 at 12:38pm: Unfortunately for the Solar adopters the price for energy to energy supply companies is very much less than the price they charge consumers. However, people can connect their Solar systems in such a way as to avoid supplying power back through the energy company's metering system. Eventually Solar system suppliers will evolve smart ways to store and feed back energy in a way that defeats the intentions of the energy companies. I understand that the cost of electricity generation from brown coal is less than 10c per kWh (might be less with current low coal price). So that's the best they are likely to offer households with Solar systems is 10c minus administration costs. But they are likely to offer less. http://theconversation.com/factcheck-does-coal-fired-power-cost-79-kwh-and-wind-power-1502-kwh-44956 Quote: The Electric Power Research Institute (2010) reported estimates of the LCOE of various sources of electricity in Australia, including: coal-fired electricity (without carbon capture and storage) — A$78–91/MWh combined-cycle gas turbines (without carbon capture and storage) — A$97/MWh wind — A$150–214/MWh medium-sized (five megawatt) solar PV systems — A$400–473/MWh. But we end up paying 25 cents per kWh !! Why ?? They say it's for maintenance but they are also charging an additional $100 for the maintenance on the bill and then they pay us a measly 6 cents per kWh for the feed-in so we are being robbed. :(

Corporation's got to make a buck. They will confound the solar power users at every opportunity.

$100 sounds like a lot for maintenance. It would be interesting to see the justification.

Sadly, the regulators and the regulated often are of the same mind because each's remuneration is dependent on the other. The consumer comes last by a country mile.