Its time wrote on May 23^rd, 2017 at 8:59am:




Sorry I don't watch Australia's Got Talent.

LW,    did you know that power prices have gone thru the roof in WA under the imposter Labor "govt" ?

crocodile wrote on May 19^th, 2017 at 7:35pm:

Greenie Train Wreck,

how's yer power bill gunna look now ?  Have U got some of them new fangled solar panel thingies yet ?

How's the Nth Pole Ice Melt going ? Been there lately to have a squiz ?




WA electricity prices could rise 15 per cent within two years, according to Energy Minister Ben Wyatt
Daniel Mercer, PerthNow May 22, 2017 9:00am

WA Energy Minister Ben Wyatt has indicated household electricity prices could have to rise by up to 15 per cent within two years as part of moves to allow people to choose where they buy their power from.

In a wideranging interview, Mr Wyatt said he wanted to end State-owned power provider Synergy’s monopoly over the residential electricity market “sooner rather than later”.

He was unable to provide a deadline but said it would be “wonderful” to achieve the timetable set out by the previous government of July 2019.

Gas provider Alinta has previously flagged an interest in selling electricity to households, while giant east coast providers AGL and Origin Energy are understood to be eyeing WA.

Mr Wyatt, who is also Treasurer, said the retail war in the natural gas market, where Wesfarmers-owned Kleenheat ended Alinta’s monopoly in 2013, was clear evidence of the benefits of competition and he wanted them replicated in the electricity sector.

But to achieve “full retail contestability”, he conceded the gap between the cost to Synergy of providing electricity and what it was able to charge would have to be bridged.

And Mr Wyatt acknowledged the gap between prices and “cost-reflective” tariffs was now about 15 per cent.

While he would focus on closing the gap as much as possible by cutting Synergy’s costs and making it more efficient, inevitably household prices would have to rise to cover much of the difference.

Ahead of a decision within the next two weeks about increases to household fees and charges from July 1, Mr Wyatt insisted he had not decided how much power prices would rise.

However, he has previously noted that they were forecast to increase 7 per cent in the Budget.

“Ultimately, I want to get to a position where Western Australians can start making a choice about who provides them with their electricity,” Mr Wyatt said. “You are seeing it already with gas, that competition has quite a dramatic impact on bills. That’s where you see real pressure applied on costs — when there’s a competitive market. That’s what I’m trying to achieve.”

Synergy receives about $300 million in operating subsidies to offset its losses, but they are expected to fall to under $100 million by 2018-19 after successive price rises of 7 per cent a year.

Mr Wyatt said opening Synergy up to competition could erode its value and hurt the State’s financial position.

“The right policy outcome, that is competition, may also be likely to have a negative balance sheet outcome — that is Synergy’s value,” he said. “It’s effectively a transfer of value to consumers. In terms of the overall economy, competition and lower power prices is a good thing.”

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/wa-electricity-prices-could-ri...

If we use my cunning plan to rid the workplace of sociopathic managers I recon we could keep more people interested in holding down a job.


BTW fruit picking is a skilled job, if you do it properly.

I have done fruit picking, grapes. I have also picked up potatoes.

Bastards of jobs, wouldn’t like to do them now. Sticky fruit, bees, wasps and spiders, back starts hurting etc.

OTOH a customer of mine at the shop, avid distiller, made a living following the harvest from Qls down to Vic and SA. Had a converted bus so minimal accommodation costs. Earned enough to make enough in 16 weeks to mostly bludge the rest of the year.