There was an interesting opinion piece from Chris Dunstan in the Sydney Morning Herald this week regarding, you guessed it, rising power bills!
Electricity prices in New South Wales are due to rise by another 17 per cent today. This will bring the cumulative increase to 76 per cent since June 2007, with further increases in the pipeline.
Dunstan outlines the ongoing argument over the cause of the price rises. It has been claimed that the current level of power network investment is unnecessary - driven by industry "goldplating". Yet the industry and the federal Energy Minister claims the $9 billion per year spent on network infrastructure is essential.
This finger pointing is getting us nowhere, writes Dunstan, and suggests that instead of spending all their money on infrastructure to meet customer demand, networks could help customers save energy by reducing demand.
Very little is currently being spent on demand management and it is reducing peak demand in Australia by less than one per cent, compared to 4.4 per cent in the US. Dunstan reports that up to $1 billion per year in infrastructure costs could be saved by 2020, while elimination growth in carbon emissions in the building sector, simply by making homes and other buildings more energy efficient.
SmartNow is firmly in support of increasing energy efficiency in order to reduce demand. It is a simple way of saving individuals money on their power bills as well as reducing demand and decreasing our carbon footprint.
To ensure your home is not using more energy than it should be, invest in a Current Cost EnviR home energy monitor from SmartNow. You will be able to see exactly how much energy you are using in real time which will enable you to reduce your bill and potentially detect any faulty appliances.
To read the full article click here: http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/the-networks-could-help-cut-power-bills-20110628-1gp2z.html
To learn more about the EnviR home energy monitor visit www.smartnow.com.au
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