They reckon it needs to go up again to reflect the cost of supply. Hang on, wasn't that what they did 2yrs ago and now the number of people needing time to pay on the bill has risen 1000% or something? My bill has doubled in about 4 yrs.
I thought the idea of a public utility was that as it supplies essentials it is subsidised by the Govt (ie: taxes) and not to make a profit?
I also thought when they split Western Power into 3 entities (supply/generation, billing and some other crap) that is was going to be more efficient and cheaper? Blind freddy could see that would not be cheaper.
Much like selling off everything else the Govt seems to want to do [}:)][}:)]
The idea of government regulated utilities isn't for the government to subsidise electricity costs. The idea is to restrict the return investors in these assets can make. The returns allowed under the regulated models are pretty dismal too, which is one reason why you get limited expenditure on new energy infrastructure (because there is a dismal reward/incentive for utilities to do so).
In metro WA, electricity bills will mostly reflect the price of natural gas (majority of SWIS grid is supplied by natural gas generation). The price of natural gas has risen substantially in the last 10 years, from around $3 per GJ to approx $10-12 per GJ now. Private utilities can't absorb price increases like that and remain in business. If there is no business then there is no electricity (which you would probably complain about more than the current price rises).
If you wan't government ownership of utilities and zero price increase in energy then you essentially pay for the same costs through increased taxes (the money has to come from somewhere). Government run businesses have also tended to be run less efficiently than private sector, so that cost will be more.
As a caveat, I work on the commercial side in the energy sector.
Dude, that reeks of Govt spin-speak.
I never said the Govt should subsidise it as (I think) you read it, just that the whole idea of having a Govt is we pay taxes and they provide roads, schools, cops, hospitals, power, water - stuff like that. We pay for our usage and they don't need to make a profit. It has worked for decades without public selloff, competition, and general political tinkering with the model.
You speak of "dismal reward/incentive for utilities". They should not need one....... their incentive is to provide essentials for the state. No KPI's, efficiency graphs etc etc. Provide for the state, pure and simple, which is why we pay tax.
The price rises in recent years are unprecedented and the selloff of utilities for short term gain is disgusting.
Firstly the State Electricity Commission became Western Power (for no perceivable benefit) at the cost of millions of dollars for a name change.
Then 10yrs later they split it into separate entities (power generation, billing, etc) which cannot possibly be cheaper to run, no matter how they tried to sell it to us.
Given that waste of money I can't truly place any faith in what they tell us about price rises or how they do business.
We expect power to go up over time, but not in massive jumps like the last 3yrs or so. Rises like that are offensive when they spend money on name changes, sell off gas to China ridiculously cheap and rural towns are destroyed by fires as they have spent bvgger all on power pole replacement for 50yrs. Then after all that wastage and mismanagement they cry poor and double our bills so pensioners freeze to death in winter. The richest state in the lucky country?
How much do you pay per kilowatt hour over there Mark? It's about 22 cents in Sydney and a service charge of around 50 cents a day. In regional and rural NSW the prices are higher.
I agree with what you say Mark. If it's an essential service then why does the government need to generate a profit from it? One reason I can think of is that one day the government plans to sell it off.
I once saw a documentary about electricity generation and retailing in Australia. Originally private companies provided electricity. When more people were using electricity it became an essential service. The private companies were not seen to have the capital to continue to supply what had become to be seen as an essential service.
So government stepped in. Where did government capital come from? From the tax payer. So in effect the tax payer payed for the electrical supply and now the tax payer is increasingly being expected to pay for profits to either privatised or corporatised government service providers. So one way or another we have to pay for it. Fair enough in a way. However it's unfair to profiteer from what is an essential service.
I think the only way to escape is to have your own electricity supply. Get yourself off the grid. It's impossible for me to do this now because I have a unit. Later on when I'll move back to the farm I'll aim to do this.
Cost of supply, has the price of coal increased that much, wages have not.
I think its more about privatisation and bigger profits.
Remember the Fremantle Gas and Coke company?
I new a bloke back then who worked for the company, they were producing gas for Fremantle the expensive way- buying coal and extracting the gas and supplying Freo.
They were bought out by SEC/ Western Power or whoever it was at the time.
Then the operation was shut down so the locals in Freo had no choice but to buy SEC supplied natural gas- and it certainly wasnt cheaper!
Stephen
Comparatively, Australia is more expensive than many other similar countries, however this is due to asset replacement because assets lifetime is now up in most of Australia. The other countries will have to follow suit soon.......
Give it five years... Aus will be no different than any other country and prices will be reasonable.
Select to expand quoteCarantoc said...
7,444 posts on Seabreeze and you complain about electricity prices ?
Hahaha ok good call
I do agree with what you say though.
Whilst I believe that governments should govern and not run private enterprises, I also say the government should provide a safety net of essential services, such that they are available for all. I would include water and electricity in my list of essential services.
I find it hard to believe that lots of different providers trying to make a return to shareholders can provide electricity cheaper than a single body with a monopoly market whose only return it to its customers. Just doesn't seem logical.
One of my (minor) issues with privatisation or lack of completely state run utilities (quasi Govt enterprises) is what happens when we have a war or major natural disasters?
When real bad stuff happens, private companies pack up and leave. That could be a real issue in 50 years or whatever, when everything is private.
Another issue I see is raising prices or power/water/gas whatever saying they don't have enough money. Looking at some of the billions Govt spends on very non-essential stuff, when will someboady say enough is enough and prune back some other expenditure and spend it on the most important things first?
Wait til 'they' bring in peak power billing! 
I remember staying with people in Denver, Colorado in early 80's where electricity was/is supplied by nuclear power & they had peak billing - so whatever your highest usage in ANY 15 min period IN THE MONTH was, then your whole bill was calculated at that rate
At the time our 3 monthly bill was $100-125, their single monthly was over $900 equivalent.
You use - you pay.
And of course, over the decades, our various state & fed gov'ts have always maintained OUR assets in peak condition so they wouldn't have to sell them off 
Secondplace, your data is correct.
In metro WA, electricity bills will mostly reflect the price of natural gas (majority of SWIS grid is supplied by natural gas generation). The price of natural gas has risen substantially in the last 10 years, from around $3 per GJ to approx $10-12 per GJ now. Private utilities can't absorb price increases like that and remain in business. If there is no business then there is no electricity (which you would probably complain about more than the current price rises).However this price we are paying now is 4 times the price of the commodity being sold into the market place.
The reason is that the present day slime bag Col and his Government group signed off on a cartel type approach by the big suppliers from the North West shelf last year for this price.
Just happens to be 4 times the going market rate
Does anyone really think that banging on and complaining about the cost of living on a water sport forum will make any difference?
The vast majority of our electricity comes from the burning of coal,which i don't think has risen that much.
Therefor the cost of producing this electricity should not be going through the roof.
According to Webster's dictionary,one of the three definitions of tyranny......a rigorous condition imposed by some outside agency or force.
So unless you want to get your electricity off the grid,you are stuck with the condition/price they charge.
