Victoria and New South Wales recorded their highest underlying energy price on record, while Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania recorded their second-highest energy prices on record this March quarter 2019 [1].
This follows the average National Electricity Market spot electricity prices on the Australian mainland were the highest on record in the last quarter of 2018 [2]. The highest electricity costs… ever.
The incredible thing is this happened despite demand dropping to its lowest level in 2002. So the price hike isn’t driven by everyone suddenly needing more power, we’d bet (and the futures market for energy prices agrees with us) – the increase in prices is here to stay.
How Is Australia Responding?
Until Australia’s transition to renewable energy gathers more pace, it is likely we will continue to see Australian consumer’s held captive to the coal-fired power industry’s profiteering and market manipulation – leading to inflated energy costs, potential blackouts and ongoing supply problems.
It’s no wonder Australian households are looking to reduce their energy usage, lower their costs, and be smarter with their power usage. However, for most households, installing a rooftop solar power system is the single, most effective action they can take to reduce their energy costs (apart from turning all the appliances off, of course!).
As Energy Efficiency Council CEO Luke Menzel recently stated: “consumers are looking at smarter, simpler ways to conserve power and reduce electricity costs”.
Increased pressure is being put on the government to remedy the situation. There are significant rebates currently in place around renewable energy installations. If you want more information on solar rebates, ask here.
We Can Help You Explore Solar
Generate Your Own Clean Energy
Cruising on the other side of the energy crisis are over 1.5 million households that now have solar panels installed on their homes.
The payback of a solar system has become so good, it’s now possible to get a quality solar panel system to pay for itself in as little as 4 or 6 years, with a possible total profit of nearly $50,000 over the life of the system. That’s roughly a twenty to twenty-five per cent return per year – every year for 25 years! And – as energy costs increase so do your savings and returns!
This is a big shift from the solar industry of a few years ago. It wasn’t all that long ago when solar systems took 10 years or more before breaking even.
These days, many people are now oversizing their array for a slightly longer return, with the benefit of being able to use more power over a hot summer by running the air conditioner more often, or with the expectation that they will add battery storage in the near future.
As a general rule, a solar power system can save you up to around $400 per year, per kW. For example, a 5kW system can save you up to around $2000 a year, giving you more power in summer compared to winter.
However, there have been serious concerns from consumers who have been scammed or sold systems which break in the first few years. These disreputable providers of solar panel installations usually compete to provide the cheapest install, while using systems that are often faulty or constructed poorly.
When the families discover their system isn’t working – or even one panel has broken – they try to claim their warranty, only to find their solar panel manufacturer or installer has gone bankrupt and can’t fix it. Often they end up paying multiple times the price of an entire high-quality system for repairs and lost energy or end up replacing their panels entirely.
The advice that we give to anyone looking at installing solar power is to choose brands that have already stood the test of time and has a great track record – a brand you can trust, just as you would if, say, buying a car. In solar, the reliable, high quality brands include LG (as in TVs and other appliances), Enphase (a silicon valley tech company), and SMA (a respected quality German manufacturer).
If you’re interested in learning about solar installations, our team is happy to help answer any questions you may have below.
Have Questions? We Can Help!
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