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California is also adding a lot of battery storage… but why are electricity prices falling in Australia and not in CA? Are they outpacing us?


"Energy Minister Chris Bowen said that Australia now has more home batteries than the United States, which has a population 12 times larger."

Yes.


I wouldn't say they are falling. The pricing is just being distributed differently to make it look like you can beat the system.

For my specific plan, the daily rate (supply charge) has gone up from $1.13 to $1.80. That is a price regardless of any usage. This varies depending on what you select for your usage rates. So if you happen to get a lower per kWh rate, then your supply rate goes up.

Time of use also is manipulative. If you have a variable rate (time of use) then your peak time is much higher than your off peak which is higher still if you were on a fixed rate plan. If you select a plan that has 3 "free" hours then the peak time is rediculous priced.

So to sum up.. You have to have a very good understanding of how you use your power.

Home battery systems, and solar to some extent, are essentially 'pre-pay' schemes. A shift of where your money goes. At least for the next 7 to 10 years which is a rough payback period for solar/battery.

I would also like to mention, when Australia introduced the solar panel schemes, the retailers were paying 60c/kWh for infeed, now they are paying 1 to 2c. The high infeed allowed a home owner to offset their bills by infeeding while at work, sometimes even generate a credit just from solar. Certainly not these days. So what would be the next shift after they get everyone on home battery systems.


California has the lowest wholesale cost in the US and were predicted to fall by 30% this summer against an 8% drop for the whole country.

Lots of other stuff affects end-user prices though.




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