Latest news with #powerbills
ABC News
17-07-2025
- General
- ABC News
Simple changes that will reduce your power bills
New analysis says the path to lower power bills isn't government subsidies, but simple changes can make huge differences to the amount of energy we consume. Adam Harvey reports.
The Guardian
20-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Australians losing billions in savings due to poor management of appliance efficiency scheme, audit finds
Australian households and businesses are missing out on billions of dollars of power bill savings, an expert has warned, after a scathing audit found the department in charge of the efficiency scheme for appliances has failed to properly administer it. The poor administration of the program has left consumers worse off, said Alan Pears, a senior fellow at RMIT and Melbourne University, who helped develop appliance energy standards in Victoria. Pears warned the program needs a wider rethink, including strengthening 'weak' minimum standards which are preventing people getting access to or buying the most efficient appliances, leading to higher energy bills. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email The Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards (Gems) Act ensures products meet minimum energy performance standards and energy rating label requirements. The labelling requirement includes the energy efficiency star-rating stickers often seen on refrigerators or dishwashers. But the National Audit Office (ANAO) report found the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water is not measuring the program's impact on reducing emissions. The report said the department 'is not measuring the program's impact on reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions and so cannot demonstrate whether the program is achieving its intended purpose'. Issues flagged in the ANAO report and could negatively impact its credibility, Pears said. Pears said the energy rating stickers 'have a lot of credibility with people' and is 'relied upon' by consumers. 'The issue we face now is, if the program is not being properly administered – and clearly it hasn't been – then the government and the energy sector too are at risk of … losing credibility with consumers.' The department has said the scheme has saved households and businesses between $12bn and $18bn in energy costs since the Act was legislated in 2012. Between 2021 and 2022, it said consumers saved between $1.3bn to $2bn, and greenhouse gas emissions were reduced between 4.1m and 6.3m tonnes. But Pears said the broad gap in estimated figures suggests the scheme isn't working as intended. 'The fact that there's such a wide band reflects the fact that they have some idea but not a very precise idea of what the benefits are,' he said. Pears said that beyond the administrative gaps, the current minimum standards are 'weak' compared to best-practice regions like the European Union or China. For example, the EU began enforcing a new rule this year for the energy consumption of electrical appliances in standby or off-mode, which it says will save consumers up to $950m between now and 2030. If Australia were to raise its standards, Pears said every household or business could save 'thousands' of dollars over the lifetime of each appliance. 'Because our standards are quite weak, we don't necessarily get the most efficient products,' Pears said. Under the legislation, companies test their appliances in approved laboratories according to the minimum standards. Thedata is sent to the climate change department for review. If compliant, the appliance is approved for sale in Australia. The department can perform a 'check test' on products to independently to ensure they are compliant. The audit said the number of check tests has been decreasing over recent years, and haven't targeted areas with the 'greatest risk of non-compliance'. In the financial year 2013-2014 the department conducted 188 check tests, according to the ANAO, but in 2021-22 just 61 models were checked. The department told the ANAO it aims to test between 60 and 70 products annually. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Pears said this can allow some bad actors to get away with subpar testing. Pears said an effective testing program is similar to speed cameras on the road. 'If you think you might get caught for speeding, you'll obey the speed limit. With any regulatory system like appliance efficiency, if you think you might be caught, you're much more likely to do things properly.' Since the program was established in 2012, the department has issued just four infringement notices, none which were paid or enforced. The audit office report said this could 'limit the department's ability to effectively encourage compliance and deter non-compliance'. ANAO's report also found that, in many cases, the same person within the climate change department was in charge of assessing and approving or rejecting a product. 'Without effective segregation of duties, there is risk that products that do not meet the requirements of the relevant Gems determination may be approved for registration. This also increases the risk of human error or corruption,' the report said. Pears also believed information on appliance efficiency stickers should be improved. He wants the government to spend more money to improve consumers' understanding of the rating system, and ensure the system is fit for purpose. 'You have to be careful because the star rating is based on the size of the appliance, not necessarily on its actual energy use. So if you've got a seven-star enormous television, that can still be using a lot more energy than a much smaller TV that's got a low star rating.' The department responded to the audit, accepting all of its nine recommendations, and said work is already under way to improve the program. ANAO recommended check testing be targeted to areas with the greatest risk of non-compliance. It also recommended the department develop performance measures to assess the effectiveness of the program in achieving its outcomes. In a statement, the department confirmed it has established a taskforce to improve the program, and has begun 'expanding the availability of check facilities' to encourage better compliance.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oakdale explores switch from PG&E to MID. How much might residents save on power?
Oakdale leaders, alarmed by recent spikes in PG&E power bills, are looking to switch to the Modesto Irrigation District. The City Council voted 5-0 on Monday, May 5, to recruit a consulting firm to explore the idea in detail. It came over a protest from PG&E, which said rate relief is coming and the system is not for sale in any case. Interim City Manager Jerry Ramar said homes could save $257 a month on average based on the current rate structures. He cautioned that the transition costs could cancel out the benefits. Supporters told of residents paying several hundred dollars a month for air-conditioning during heat waves. 'I do live next to people who have to run their fans all summer, and they are actually hot, very hot,' Councilmember Kayleigh Gilbert said. About 7,000 of Oakdale's homes, the vast majority, have PG&E hookups. Some of the newer subdivisions are in MID because of a circa-2000 effort to bring competition to the California grid. The switch would need approval from the MID board, the Stanislaus Local Agency Formation Commission and the California Public Utilities Commission. The process could mean several years of legal wrangling. As a public agency, MID can charge less for electricity than PG&E because it does not have to earn profits for investors. It also does not serve mountainous areas, where PG&E has incurred huge costs for wildfires sparked by its wires. Oakdale would have three main obligations before joining MID, said an email from Melissa Williams, the utility's public affairs manager. One is paying for an analysis of how this would affect the overall system. The city also would have to cover the cost of extending MID service and reimburse PG&E for its infrastructure. Those assets includes poles and wires along city streets and Oakdale's share of PG&E power plants and transmission lines around the West. Monday's vote was for Ramar to contact firms that could do a feasibility study, which he said might run $50,000 to $75,000 and take a year. The council would have to approve the contract at a future meeting. MID was founded in 1887 to provide Tuolumne River water to farms, as was the neighboring Turlock Irrigation District. Both began in the 1920s to generate cheap hydropower for sale to local homes and businesses. Population growth prompted them to add other sources, first fossil fuels and later wind and solar. MID's original service area takes in much of the zone bounded by the Tuolumne, Stanislaus and San Joaquin rivers. Oakdale lies within the Oakdale Irrigation District, which generates Stanislaus hydropower for sale to distant users rather than city residents. MID gained its Oakdale customers as part of a grid reform that also gave it access to part of the Ripon area and to all of Mountain House. The latter was an entirely new town northwest of Tracy. MID and TID now have close to a quarter-million electricity customers between them. PG&E also evolved over the past century-plus and today serves about 16 million users of power, gas or both. Electricity bills have one charge to cover fixed costs, such as salaries, and rates that vary with monthly consumption. Users are penalized for high use. Ramar said his estimate was based on average MID consumption of 850 kilowatt-hours per home in a month. The district charges 18 cents for each of the first 500 kilowatt-hours and 21 cents for the other 350. PG&E's rates are 63 cents per kilowatt-hour during peak demand 40 cents at other times, the city manager said. The speaker from PG&E was Eric Alvarez, government affairs representative for Stanislaus and four other counties. He is a Modesto City Council member but recuses himself from matters involving that city. Alvarez acknowledged that high summer bills 'cause a hardship for many of our Central Valley customers.' But he said no rate hike is planned this year and 2026 will bring a drop of about 5 cents per kilowatt-hour. Alvarez also mentioned a $15 billion federal loan guarantee that will help PG&E's upgrade its sources and transmission capacity. PG&E has paid major settlements following wildfires and also is burying the lines in many vulnerable areas. During winter, it contends with snow and wind in the mountains. The council said Oakdale residents need help sooner than PG&E offered. Member Jared Pitassi said this could especially aid renters hoping to become owners. He added that his own house is on MID power, never topping $160 per month. 'I think it's fair for us to stand up for the residents,' Pitassi said. '... It really ticks me off how much they have to pay.' Alvarez warned Oakdale against trying to acquire the system through eminent domain, which happens when governments cannot get owners to sell. And he noted the ongoing attempt by the South San Joaquin Irrigation District to take over PG&E customers within its boundaries. SSJID generates hydropower on the Stanislaus River in a partnership with OID. It has proposed since 2008 to use it as a cheaper source than PG&E in Manteca, Ripon, Escalon and other towns. Alvarez said this has cost SSJID about $28 million in legal and other costs so far. He concluded with these words for the Oakdale council: 'We are committed to providing safe, clean, reliable and affordable energy to our customers in Oakdale, and while we understand the focus on affordability, exploring a public takeover that isn't viable and would create additional risk and costs will not benefit residents and customers.'
