I spoke to my supplier today (truenergy) and because l have solar panels newly installed l will be getting a co-gen meter not a smart meter because apparently smart meter are not bi-directional. At the same time because co-gen meters can now meter peak and off peak rates my peak rates being 7am to 11pm will increase by 8c/kw and off course off peak rates have also increased form 4c/kw to 10c/kw. The suppliers excuse for the large increase is because now we have more off peak hours, more like we are being punished for putting solar panels up.
Also those of us with medical problems and are forced to stay at home more then we like to, will have on choice but to pay peak prices.
We are paying for year of neglect buy both government parties and privatization .
Bet you havent got a single bill from them since it was put in....Originally Posted by HertyGerty
I havent had a power bill since june last year.
Don't worry, you will not see a bill from Truenergy for a long long time.
They have a software bug and cant read the meters.
Of course when they fix it....wait for the big bill....
Cant read or like Integral Energy in NSW who have quoted the following reasons for not reading the meter.
1/ Friends bill for Nov/Feb, 'We were unable to find your Electricity Meter' ( Been in the same place for over 15 years and has been read 4 times a year untill now.)
2/ same person following Quarter, 'We were unable to devote the neccasary resources to enable us read your Meter'
3/ My last quarter, same time as number 2 above but 20 kms away
'Due to Inclement weather during Summer, we were unable to devote the neccasary resources to read your Meter'.
4/ Main town, 13,000 people 25ks from me, same time as 2 & 3,
'We have estimated your account as were were unable to devote the etc-etc- etc.
At least they have sent an 'Estimation' of amount due which was in my case based on the same Quarter (Feb 2009) which was high reading compared to the 6 Quarters they showed but even this was not a consistent estimation practice on other customers bills that I saw.
One only went back to mid year and was on their lowest usage.
I was looking into replacing my old coal fired hot water donkey with a heat pump system but with the AEG increasing charges by 60%, they can get well and truely stuffed.
$60 for a load of coal works out to around $1 a week for all the Hot water I could ever use.
Last edited by gordon_s1942; 21-03-10 at 09:25 AM.
I stand unequivicably behind everything I say, I just dont ever remember saying it !!
Thank god for an upcoming election.
Its most lightly a delay until they are re elected but a few months grace period I wonder if the cost will still appear on the power bill for them mean time
Update:
Very sneeky. The meter rollout continues BUT they will not allow the power copmanys to charge the higher rates. No doubt until after the election.
Does anyone have a info sheet on these smart meters .
I want to know what interface they give the customer to check their usage .
Maybe you have to go on line to view data at your retailers site ??
A friend has one and he checks on line so if your poor and cant afford internet you cant see it. I think there is a button on the meter too which will give the totals also.
pieces (23-03-10)
The bit of paper I got with my bill about them amounted to pretty much no info other than " we are billing you even though you dont have one ".
I doubt they even now how to use them.
pieces (23-03-10)
I was looking at one of these products a while back
.
I mentioned that Truenergy havent read my meter since 3rd june 2009.
I got a message today that they are not allowed to charge me longer than 9 months in arrears.
So far I have got nearly 3 weeks power for free....(6 june 24 june)
I use 46 kw a day so 10 bucks a day I am profitting by them not billing me.
Plus they cant charge me the service charge either.
Also...Vic government halts smart meter roll out today so thats back on topic...LOL
Do you know if this is a law ? A mate had a nightmare time with Origin who made him pay back a couple of thousand because they werent billing him. If it is he might have some sort of come back on them.I got a message today that they are not allowed to charge me longer than 9 months in arrears.
I will ask my mate, but I do know they all hate the "o" word cause it costs them $480 plus gst everytime they interact with the ombudsman.
An interaction may ocurr several times in one complaint
Same goes for the telcos and banks
Different laws in different States makes it more confusing but the local paper claimed a customer doesnt have to accept an 'Estimation' and can demand the meter be read.
Apparently one did and the bill went from the somehow standard $400 + everyone seems to have received down to $160.
I dont know if we also have that cut off time if they dont read the bills but I doubt it and if you didnt chase them up to read the meter you would still have to pay the account when they finaly sent it out.
How do they read these new meters, over the power lines remotely or in person?
I stand unequivicably behind everything I say
They're equipped with wireless LAN and form a wireless mesh network with all the other meters in the neighbourhood. The utility company will read your meter from their office if they can, otherwise they might have to cruise the neighbourhood "wardriving" style
Oh and in case no-one's seen one of them before, here are pics of mine:
Last edited by Andy Chee; 25-03-10 at 11:20 AM. Reason: added pics
Might be interesting to someone.
Ive seen a report from 2007 from the power industry group they were talking in terms of how much people will bear in price increases I will call it peak and super peak their little willies were getting excited at the prospect of $2 kwh for super peak .
From what I read its not about saving green house gasses or saving you money its about what the super markets are doing now its called downsizing and you pay more for less .
They will say save 5% on generation demand due to people turning things off / going with out at the same time they have have increased rates and the shoulder rate is around what the old peak rate was and the peak form 7am to 11pm is going through the roof .This is price gouging on a huge scale being disguise as helping climate change .
But population growth will quickly wipe this gain out any way.
I think the ACCC should go through this rip of with a fine tooth comb.
We only have retailer choice which is a joke as there dictated to by the Generation/ Distribution company's .
These increases for Electricity have never been about the cost of Constucting,Generating,Maintaining supply but about setting a Market Value $ per Unit of what they believe it should cost and fees are set accordingly.
They can push this Value to whatever they want because there is no other souces of supply available from individualy independent Generators to allow you to choose from.
I stand unequivicably behind everything I say
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