This report in the local press (ABC) caught my eye.

How are things in your neck of the woods?

Australian households are paying among the highest electricity prices in the developed world according to research commissioned by the nation's top 100 power users.

A report released by the Energy Users Association of Australia (EUAA) shows average electricity prices have grown by as much as 40 per cent in the past five years.

It says prices are far above those paid in the United States, Canada, Japan and the European Union, and predicts prices will continue to rise significantly due to the introduction of the carbon tax and ongoing infrastructure costs.

The Federal Government acknowledges power prices are rising, but says it is helping with cost-of-living pressures.

Energy suppliers themselves say the drivers of these costs are structural and deregulation, and that greater competition is a crucial part of the answer.

The study involved a comparison of 91 countries, states or provinces in the developed world and found that household electricity prices in four Australian states were in the top six.

"Those four states collectively make up 75 per cent of the Australian population," said EUAA executive director Roman Domanski.

Those states in order are South Australia at number three, followed by New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia.

In some cases, the average household electricity bill charged at just under 25 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2011-12 was 194 per cent more than that of Canadians, and 122 per cent higher than those of Americans.

Mr Domanski says the price disparity is only likely to grow.

"The three key factors that will increase prices again in 2012 are firstly the network charges - these are the charges for transporting electricity across poles and wires," he said.

"Secondly, the subsidies that are paid by people to support renewable energy.

"The third significant impact will be the introduction of a carbon price from July 1."

Households least able to afford the prices rises will be compensated.

But the EUAA says the price rises will still hurt and will negatively impact businesses.

"A lot of those companies are trying to compete on export markets," Mr Domanski said.

"If you force up the price of their electricity so that it becomes uncompetitive, that will have consequences in terms of jobs, investment, et cetera."

The Federal Government acknowledges electricity prices are likely to keep growing due to large amounts of investment required to maintain network infrastructure.

Both sides of politics are keen to mitigate against the extra pressure this places on the cost of living.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard says it is the Opposition that is driving up power prices by waging a campaign against the carbon tax.

"Uncertainty over carbon pricing. That is the reckless scare campaign from the Opposition with his (Tony Abbott's) futile promises to remove carbon pricing," she said.

But Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says it is the carbon tax itself which will push up electricity prices.

He says the EUAA study shows the carbon tax will add another 20 per cent to power costs.

"Why is the Government adding the world's biggest carbon tax to the world's highest electricity prices," he said.

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Calm, quiet, smooth, devastating

Oldfart,

Alas, there’s still no such thing as a free lunch. If the government the people elect believe that ‘X’ is bad, and legislate to penalize it, then until the government is changed, the penalization of ‘X’ will continue. In this instance, the ‘X’ is producing electricity by burning fossil fuels, specifically coal. Some work upon the assumption that producing electricity by burning coal is bad.

Taking that as a given, then to encourage alternative, “greener” sources of electricity, the cost of the subsidies required to make those alternatives economically competitive with coal must be paid. One way of paying for those subsidies is to add their cost to the taxes paid by the electricity suppliers. This additional cost is then passed on to the consumer. A criticism one might raise in re a scheme of this sort is that it is the government, rather than the people who ultimately select the coal replacement, another example of “the government knows better than you” issue.

The Carbon Tax is simpler than a subsidy. It merely penalizes the use of coal by raising the price of everything produced with it as a raw material. As electricity is ubiquitous in our developed nations, that decision then means pretty much everything. This engages the attention of the people who, by seeking to avoid the higher costs, may well cast a wider net in their search for reasonable alternatives than might a government office whose concern is limited to subsidizing this or that particular alternative to fossil fuel generated electricity.

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Eudaimonia

That is the theory that the Labor Party are working on, that the "greenest" or "lowest carbon" is the best alternative. The concept that people will gravitate to the least taxed alternative is unsound because there is little so little low-carbon electricity about here that choice is choked.

We have no nuclear, some hydro and wind (feeding into the southern grid, not ours) and coal and natural gas turbines. There was a rush on rooftop solar panels, but the Feds pulled the subsidy.

In the Northern Territory, we have only gas turbine and a very few rooftop photovoltaics. We have no choice of supplier, but we'll be hit anyway.

It'll be interesting to see what the effects are down south, but with carbon price passed on through manufacturers to the ultimate consumer everywhere, it's cracking a walnut with a pile-driver.

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Calm, quiet, smooth, devastating

Accepting that any conversion of fossil fuel is unacceptable, alternative electric energy generation is the only place the focus of increased cost should emanate from. As soon as any "incentive", "penalties", "tax" and ESPECIALLY when 'carbon credits' becomes a marketed item, nothing will change or improve except for the wealth manipulators. Political and big business corruption is the only thing that will be generated and yes, those cost will be passed to the consumer (like ALL increased costs for anything). If there are cost increases for energy it has to come only and directly from the increased cost of alternative generation as the 'phasing out restriction of fossil fuel conversion' is implemented. Any true incentive will be from the necessity to become more competitive within the industry.

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Ouch! Gas turbine is, I've been told, the most expensive generator. Our local provider only cuts them in at peak load.


I like the touch that the government plans to offer credits to some to offset the impending rate hikes brought about by the government actions.

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Eudaimonia

Gas turbines are practical here because it's much cheaper than shipping in coal or diesel.

What we should be doing is using solar thermal to run steam power stations out in the desert. Critics cite inefficiencies, but if we built massively, who cares?

Small minded people with narrow vision will be the death of us all.

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Calm, quiet, smooth, devastating

Too bad you printed this OF. If our current administration sees this, they'll want to become the "world leader" in the price of energy.

Heck, this'll probably cost us another $400 or $500 million in stimulus money and gain us another three jobs before the companies go belly up.

I think this whole fossil fuel thing has gotten way out of hand. Everyone is coming up with excuse after excuse to hike the prices on coal and oil. It's actually getting to the point in my area that unless your vehicle gets over 30 mpg you won't be able to afford to go to work. Electricity is just one facet of the same thing. People don't want to use nuclear because of the disaster if there is another 3 mile island, they don't want to use wind because of the amount of space it takes and the only real place you can do it is in a desert or on a plain (which is the western U.S.), solar panels cost a lot to set up and maintain, conservationists don't want us blocking the rivers with dams, so that leaves good old pollution causing fossil fuels that no one wants to use because "it's destroying the ozone". You can't win from the way I see it. Oh and just for added measure, if we didn't cut down so many trees to build these $350,000 homes that no one can afford and subsequently not buying the damage to the environment wouldn't be nearly as drastic..........sorry. I feel better now.

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"BOY: On a hot summer night, would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses? GIRL: Will he offer me his mouth? BOY: Yes. GIRL: Will he offer me his teeth? BOY: Yes. GIRL: Will he offer me his jaws? BOY: Yes. GIRL: Will he offer me his hunger? BOY: Yes. GIRL: Again, will he offer me his hunger? BOY: Yes! GIRL: Yes. BOY: On a hot summer night, would you offer your throat to the wolf with the red roses? GIRL: Yes. BOY: I bet you say that to all the boys!" -Meatloaf

^^^^ Yep.

$350,000?

Chicken feed.

The houses no-one can afford over here are over a half mill.

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Calm, quiet, smooth, devastating

One of the interesting developments in electricity production here in the States is that with the advent of hydraulic fracking, the cost of NG has dropped
http://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/ng_pri_sum_dcu_nus_m.htm

This has reduced the cost of fossil-fuel generated electricity, and that, in turn, has further reduced the attractiveness of nuclear generation.

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Eudaimonia

Japan has just closed all nuke powerplants.

Where's the extra power coming from?

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Calm, quiet, smooth, devastating

A little nostalgia ...


... remember when we all complained how telephone poles along the highways were thought to be such a blight on our landscape ...







Ah, those were the days.

They still are a blight, they just now have company with the devil's fans.

It's a plot. They'll all line up one day and blow the earth off it's axis.

You heard it here first, folks.

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Calm, quiet, smooth, devastating

... and diesel cost less than gasoline (petrol)!

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Eudaimonia