Antinuclear

Financial benefits of solar power leading South Australians to make the switch

  Households in South Australia are increasingly turning to solar power to alleviate or even obliterate energy bill woes. National solar energy provider Energy Matters estimates a good quality solar power system installed in Adelaide can return a financial benefit of between $1,502 – $1,711 annually. 

South Australian Electricity Prices Biting Hard http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3784, 10 June 13 The last 6 months of 2012 saw a substantial increase in the number of SA households turning to electricity instalment plans and joining electricity retailer hardship programs says the Essential Services Commission of South Australia.

The recently released July-December 2012 Energy Retail Performance Report (PDF) from ESCOSA shows the number of electricity customers turning to residential electricity instalment plans increased from 23,414 to 28,857. However, ESCOSA says this increase was partially due to changes in how Origin Energy reports instalment plan uptake.

There was also a substantial increase in hardship program customers; growing from 4,370 at the end of June to 5,017 by the end of last year.The number of disconnections for non-payment during 2012 had increased by 606 (13%) and the number of customers reconnected rose by 307 (14%).

Between June 2007 and June 2012, Adelaide’s electricity prices increased by 62% and since June last year, there has been a further 18% rise.
Households in South Australia are increasingly turning to solar power to alleviate or even obliterate energy bill woes. National solar energy provider Energy Matters estimates a good quality solar power system installed in Adelaide can return a financial benefit of between $1,502 – $1,711 annually.

The company says where once the up-front capital outlay for a solar power system was a barrier, its zero deposit payment plan arrangement has removed that barrier and allowed some families to “save as they go” – with repayments being equal to or lower than electricity bill savings.

Energy Matters is urging households considering going solar to do so soon as the 16 cent feed in tariff incentive paid by SA Power Networks will only be available for new connections until 30 September 2013. Households installing solar before that date will receive the incentive for electricity exported to the mains grid until 30 September 2016. In addition to the 16c, electricity retailers also currently make a contribution of 9.8c a kilowatt hour.

ESCOSA has also expressed its concern at what it says is the “repeated failure of some energy retailers to meet mandatory service targets, when responding to inquiries and complaints from customers.”

“Based on the figures that we have for the six months to December 2012, retail complaints per 100 customers are likely to rise from 2.7 per cent to 4.5 per cent in 2012/13,” says ESCOSA (PDF) in a separate statement. “While some of that increase may be attributable to issues such as regulated price increases, the majority relate to issues of billing and marketing.”

Customer churn is incredibly high in the retail electricity sector. It’s been raised elsewhere that if energy retailers spent more on customer retention, they wouldn’t find it necessary to spend so much on customer acquisition.

June 10, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | solar, South Australia