The Greening of Gavin

How Hard Is It…

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.. to get a bi-directional electricity meter installed.  After two years and a some complaints, it all came to a head the other day.  Now that the feed-in tariff has been legislated, I am loosing money (not that it was my motivation to get the solar PV system installed two and a half years ago).

Just when I thought it was in the bag, yet another delay.  I rang up my energy retailer to get my meter changed out so that I could sign a feed-in agreement with them, but after a long and interesting conversation about why they would roll over all credits and not wipe them, I was told to call my installer because it is their responsibility to send them a Certificate of Electrical Safety and an Electrical Work Request.  I told them that I already had a Network Connection Agreement with my electricity distributor, and they said it would not be an issue.  They checked their records and they had no record of my installer asking for the meter to be swapped over!

So, I rang my installer, who was supposed to sort all of this out two and a half bloody years ago.  I managed to get hold of the original project manager after 3 calls and multiple messages.  I think it was when I told their call centre staff that I was going to hit them for lost earnings that the ball started rolling.  A day later, the project manager called and informed me that my energy retailer would not install a new meter because the Certificate of Electrical Safety and an Electrical Work Request were not current.  They were more than 12 months old.  No shit Sherlock!  It was about this time I put on my angry hat and began to instruct the PM to get his act together, get me another certificate and independent electrical inspection within the week for free, or I would take my case to consumer affairs and the media.  Apparently, this worked.  I have never seen so much action in such a short space of time.

My demand was on Tuesday, the safety certificate was issued on the Friday, and the independent inspection occurred on the Sunday!  Confirmation from my energy retailer that they had passed my request to the distributor was received on Monday!  It took only 6 days after coming down heavy to get as far as I did in the previous 27 months.  It is amazing where a bit of aggravation gets you.

Normally, I am a straight forward sort of guy who is quite patient, but expects decent customer service, especially when that service comes at a cost of $20500!  I had reached my own renewable energy tipping point and blew my stack in the nicest possible way of course.

Now all I have to do is wait until the 23rd of December which is 21 days stipulated by the distributor before my meter gets installed.  I have already tried to contact the solar specialist at the energy retailer who I talked to in the first instance, but she hasn’t returned my calls.  What happened to good old customer service, especially now that I am loosing 60 cents per kWh that I export into the power grid?  It is not like I am not offering to pay the $300 odd for the meter and installation.  I don’t feel jaded, I just wanted action.

I bet the shoe would be on the other foot and a lot quicker I might add if I had have owed any of them money, that is for sure!

Power Thoughts

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Long time between posts, however still have a good time with visiting relatives.  Anyway, I had a bit of a suprise in the post this week.

During the winter quarter, my electricity usage was zero!  Partly because Mr Power metre reading man couldn’t be buggered reading my metre the quarter before, therefore a massive estimate was calculated by my power company, however, we did make quite a bit of our own electricity via our Solar PV system.

Here is an edited copy of the bill details.

But here is the rub.  Even though I used no electricity, I was still charged for 25% Green power (which somehow miraculously appeared after an absence of two bills).  Also, as you can see I was charged for the normal Service to Property charge of 56c per day and therefore will always have to pay something even if I use no electricity.  So, I rang my energy retailer to seek an explanation.
It was a half sensible explanation, whereby even though I pumped as much electricity into the grid as I used, the power I used at night was supplied from the grid and 25% of that was from renewable wind. I understood their logic, and I didn’t dispute it.  I have to get my evening electricity from somewhere when the sun sets.
During the same phone conversation, I once again converted back to 100% renewable wind for the power I draw from the grid at night, and paid for carbon offsets for my natural gas usage for the next year.  By doing this the energy retailer increases the kWh tariff rate from our normal 19.74c per kWh to 25.24c per kWh, so that if my electricity usage is zero as it was last bill I will not be charged an extra “green” tariff.
I was then transferred to a Solar Specialist, who was very informative, so I could enquired about the Premium Solar PV feed-in tariff that should start early November.  It has been passed as law and once all set up, I will receive 60c per kWh for each one I feed into the grid.  However, I have to get my PV installer to send an Electrical Work Request to the energy retailer to get a bi-directional meter installed at a cost of $350.  This is something my installer should have arranged back in 2007!
Anyway, sometime this week I will arrange the meter swap over (ensuring to take a final reading myself) and sign the feed-in tariff contract with my energy retailer in readiness for the new tariff to commence.  I have had confirmation that the energy retailer will not remove any accumulated credits at the end of the 12 month period, so that is an added bonus.  The legislation in Victoria does not stipulate that the credit must be carried over, but upon digging a little deeper with during the phone call, the main reason they are not going to remove the credits is because I could actually sue them for doing so! 
So it pays to find out as much info as you can before getting Solar PV grid tied installed, and ensure that your installer does everything they are supposed to do.  As as many questions as you can during the installation, because otherwise you will have to do the hard yards like I have and do all the research and running around yourself.
Even when you have your own power station on your roof, there is no such thing as a free lunch!

Good Feed-In Tariff News

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Residential Solar
There are a couple of good news items today on the renewable energy front.

Firstly, the Feed-in Tariff Petition for a national gross tariff of 17,000+ signatures was tabled in the Senate yesterday by Australian Greens Senator Christine Milne.

Here is an extract from a press release I received from the petition organisers.

Independent MP for Lyne, Rob Oakeshott, will also announce he will introduce Senator Milne’s Private Member’s Bill for a feed-in tariff into the House of Representatives.

“I’m thrilled to be tabling this petition today which shows the extraordinary level of public support for renewable energy and the best policy to bring it on.” said Senator Milne.

“It is time the Commonwealth stepped in to introduce a real scheme that will pay a premium rate for all energy generated from all renewable sources and technologies.”

“The Government is bending over backwards to provide certainty to coal, but seems determined to undermine any certainty for renewable energy.”

The petition signatures were gathered at FeedInTariff.com.au, a community initiative provided by Australian renewable energy company, Energy Matters.

The petition was initiated in response to increasing calls from Energy Matters customers for a national gross feed in tariff scheme and the slow progress on the part of the Australian Federal Government in rolling out such a program.

According to Energy Matters spokesperson Andrew Scarlett, “Climate change caused by carbon emissions is a serious threat. The government needs to reduce its reliance on destructive fossil fuels and encourage uptake of renewable energy.

“We know gross feed-in tariffs boost renewable power and create lasting jobs. They are a tremendous opportunity, both environmentally and economically. Instead, we’re committing public resources to antiquated coal technology that makes us the worst per capita polluters in the planet. Australians have a right to expect leadership from their government on this critical issue.”

I am proud to be one of the supporter of this great initiative, and wrote about it earlier in the year in a post titled “Gross Feed-in Tariff Petition“. Well done everyone who signed the petition.

The second good news story is that the Victorian Parliament has finally passed the states net feed-in Solar PV tariff though its upper house. It is now up to the lower house to approve the small changes and then onward for signature by the Governor. Below is the email I personally received from the Hon. Peter Batchelor;

Good afternoon Gavin,

This afternoon the Brumby Labor Government’s Premium Feed-In Tariff bill passed through the Legislative Council.

Once the amended bill is approved by the Legislative Assembly and the Governor, it will be law in Victoria.

Victorians will be able to access the fairest and best Feed-In Tariff in Australia.

It is important to note that in response to responsible environment groups and community feedback the final bill includes the following changes including an increase in the size of system that is eligible under the scheme (now 5kw up from 3.2kw) as well as the inclusion of community organisations and small businesses with energy consumption less than 100 MWh a year.

It is also the only scheme in Australia that has built in safeguards to ensure the scheme’s cost to Victorian electricity consumers will not exceed $10.

Please find the attached media release that announces the legislation.

I have also attached two letters which confirm that AGL and Origin Energy will pay customers for any credit they accrue.

Kind regards,

Peter Batchelor
Minister for Energy and Resources

Wasn’t that nice of him (not). I am glad that I added preasure to the Legislative Council, asking them to include small business and community groups, and to raise the eligibility to a higher rating. It is only the saving grace and sense of fair play from the two mentioned energy retailers that will make the scheme effective at all. I am glad I am already with Origin, and will be taking up the deal when the legislation passes. I am even willing to pay for a bi-directional electricity meter, which should pay itself off in a few months.

About bloody time we had some good news on the renewable energy front! This may just start to make a difference to averting climate change.