By Jo Nova
The Transmission line cost bomb just went off and it changes everything
This is big. So big the AEMO just announced transmission line costs are up as much as 55%, and they are going to re-visit projects they previously said needed to proceed (which is the nice way of saying they will have to axe some or many of them). What no one is spelling out, is that if the transmission lines can’t be built, they also can’t build the vast solar and wind “farms” that the Labor government was depending on. Suddenly a lot of renewable projects are orphans.
Australia is supposed to build 10,000 kilometers of high voltage transmission lines by 2050. But last week, the AEMO admitted in their Draft 2025 Electricity Network Options Report that these interconnectors would cost between 25 to 55% more than expected, which makes them essentially unaffordable.
Plan B is where they pretend cars, home solar and batteries can save the “Transition”
The old plan of massive wind and solar factories spread across the continent is quietly mutating into a DIY version where the government hopes homeowners will rescue the Net Zero transition by buying the batteries the government and the wind and solar factories can’t afford. What did I say a year ago: “They want you in an EV so they can use your battery to rescue the unreliable grid they built“.
The code word for this is CER or Consumer Energy Resources.
The big question is whether the government can trick enough people into handing over the cash to buy an EV, or a home battery that even with a $4,000 subsidy will barely break even in a best case scenario. What happens when the punters realize the battery they bought to reduce their own costs is being drained by our electricity management at peak hour to keep the grid from crashing?
What happens when the poor realize they are paying more for electricity so rich people can have solar panels and batteries and (slightly) cheaper electricity? Hell to pay.
Now they talk about “social licence”?
The AEMO and renewables fans are also admit the farmers didn’t like them, so the routes had to be redrawn on longer, more difficult paths, and the payments for the pain and inconvenience turned out to be much larger than the inner city latte set expected. Thus and verily, the timelines have also blown out.
The farmer’s pain is referred to as a “social licence” consideration. The farmers, though, don’t mince words:
Western Victorian Farmer
Would the AEMO care so much about social license if they could have forced the lines through? What they are really afraid of is burning off the whole damn country when families everywhere realize they had to pay for $20 thousand million dollars of high voltage lines so renewables factories could make a profit from the subsidies the families also had to pay for too. Professional leaches at 440,000 volts.
There is karma here. Renewables need high voltage lines, but high voltage line installers need cheap reliable energy. Once upon a time, when we had lots of cheap coal power, we might have been able to afford to make the transmission towers that industrial renewables need. But now that the same people who want renewables have banned gas exploration, and destroyed cheap electricity, they can’t possibly afford to build more transmission lines.
Suddenly the AEMO realizes that transmission line costs will hurt consumers. Now they tell us?
They should have seen this coming years ago:
Transmission cost blowout threat to power bills, AEMO warns
By Perry Williams, The Australian
A massive surge in costs to build $20bn worth of electricity transmission would trigger a hit in household power bills, the Australian Energy Market Operator says, amid skill shortages and a battle to win over communities and farmers to the green energy switch.
The cost of overhead transmission line projects has ballooned by up to 55 per cent, with substations rising as much as 35 per cent compared with equivalent estimates provided for AEMO’s 2024 electricity plan.
This is big. So big the AEMO is going to reconsider projects it previously said needed to proceed.
“AEMO recognises that increases in costs for electricity transmission network development would impact bills for electricity consumers,” the operator said. “The 2026 ISP will revisit transmission network projects previously identified as needing to proceed … seeking to ensure that overall costs for consumers are optimised.”
Hence the “Plan B” is to get the consumer to foot the bill:
One area where AEMO may be able to cut back on costs is by leaning more heavily on household sources such as rooftop solar, electric vehicle to grid supplies and batteries which received a recent subsidy boost. Taxpayers will contribute $4000 for an average household battery installation under a $2.3bn election commitment by the Prime Minister, with Labor promising the policy will push electricity prices down for “everyone”.
As Graham Lloyd points out, the power utilities are all warning that shifting the burden to householders is not going to work:
Future of power uncertain and expensive
By Graham Lloyd, The Australian
In April, Transgrid said assumptions that Virtual Power Plants will experience the same level of availability and flexibility to respond to market conditions as an equivalently sized utility-scale battery energy storage system are not reasonable.
Households were unlikely to accept that their assets may be accessed frequently and run very hard because household solar and batteries are primarily investments intended to provide utility and value to consumers rather than the market, Transgrid said.
In March, Queensland power utilities Ergon Energy and Energex gave a similar warning.
“We are cautious of the approach to model customer behaviour based on economically rational models, as we consider most CER investments do not conform to these modelling outcomes,” the utilities said.
“For example, based on our anecdotal experience, AEMO’s assumptions regarding the level of battery energy storage systems uptake supported by Virtual Power Plants may be overstated.”
We know this is the new desperate rescue plan for the doomed transition because even the industry lobby site, Reneweconomy, is working so hard to sell it as “handing power to the people”
Giles Parkinson puts on a brave face, pretending that this is “sailing with the wind” and has been “brewing for a while” (as if it’s not a surprise) but this is a big backflip by the AEMO and it’s not remotely good for all those wind and solar projects.
Even he admits this is a fundamental rethink.
Australia is about to see a step change in its renewable transition strategy
Giles Parkinson, Reneweconomy
One thing that seems certain, however, is that the manner of getting there, and closer to 100 per cent renewables over the following decade, is about to get a fundamental rethink, and it could end up delivering the most significant change to the country’s renewable energy blueprint yet.
The document flags a new focus on using existing local networks for more wind, solar and storage, and on leveraging consumer energy resources – the rooftop solar, household batteries and EVs that will be bought and installed by consumers themselves.
That’s a funny way to phrase it Giles? Killing the business…
It’s a significant move. In the absence of a carbon price, rooftop solar has been the most effective tool in killing the business case for Australia’s aging fleet of dirty fossil fuel generators. But it has created issues of its own, and will remain a wild card for the grid if it can’t be tamed by an army of small batteries.
And who pays for that army of small batteries Giles?
Wait, now you tell us that the best way to reduce costs is with “consumer energy resources”, and it’s supposed to be cheaper for everyone. Why didn’t you say so before…
And the growth of consumer energy resources is possibly the best way to ensure that prices do, as promised, actually fall in the transition from coal to green energy – both for those who own and install them, and those who don’t.
He blames the big bad capitalists — but never acknowledges that it was the stupid socialists who rewrote the market:
The evidence so far is that it hasn’t, mostly because the new assets – wind, solar and especially storage – are largely controlled by the same companies that own and control the coal and gas assets.
Indeed, the socialists make it possible for predatory capitalism to monopolize the market and then they act surprised when it does?
Even Giles Parkinson say it’s an appalling mess:
However the plan is framed, social licence remains absolutely critical. Despite the best efforts of some really good renewable energy developers, it’s been poorly handled.
The worst of it has come in the management of the transmission routes, but a combination of entitled development companies, bloody-minded opposition and some appalling planning regimes have created an appalling mess – highlighted by the latest backflip by the new Queensland state LNP government.
Blame the management indeed. Anything but admit it was always a stupid idea. The renewables fantasy was never going to work. It was a horrible plan to cover the country-side in expensive, intrusive, live infrastructure that ruined views, raised the risk of fires, and got in the way of farming and firefighting. And it was all done in the futile hope of changing the weather.
But rejoice, in part, at least, the protests by farmers and communities are working
The industry is so rattled, they even asked Reneweconomy not to publicize their projects lest the people notice what they want to do:
Little wonder some developers are wary of scrutiny. One even asked Renew Economy last week to stop reporting on projects put in front of the federal government’s EPBC process because of the risks of unwanted scrutiny.
Clearly, we need to watch the EPBC list. Can anyone help identify where these are officially listed? If they don’t want us to see, then I’d like to know…
Image by Nerijus jakimavičius from Pixabay
“The AEMO and renewables fans are also admit the farmers didn’t like them,”
Ah, the unintended consequences of the latte mob declaring war on farmers… The countryside bites back!
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I am concerned for land owners leasing land to wind turbine installation owners who might not have arranged a lease that guarantees removal if the owners decide not to remove and replace them. The costs involved in removing are estimated to be $500,000 to $700,000 per wind turbine depending on location and access. Plus dumping costs.
And how many shareholders will agree to invest more money for removal and replacement of the assets now liabilities?
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You poor bastards! Over in NZ we have 80% renewable with a string of geothermal power coming onstream in the next 15 years. There are a few towers of terror around token gesture to be honest. Seems the populace in Aussie is being setup for
a sucker punch in the wallet. Having a Labour government increases the risk of a complete fuckup in the whole grid and infrastructure being able to supply to meet ever increasing demand. Good luck to you lot, with a woke bunch of grifters your going to need it cheers from NZ
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Over the last 2 weeks I have driven past hundreds of wind turbines in western Victoria totally immobile for the greater part of that time. The idea that we can power a modern industrial economy based on intermittents like solar and wind is totally delusional. The accompanying idea that this unreliable electricity will also be cheap is so utterly ridiculous it’s not funny.
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Ross, Just because it can’t possibly work doesn’t mean it won’t!
(I think that’s the formula we’re supposed to be using . . . )
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Just because they aren’t spinning doesn’t mean there not producing subsidies.
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A major part of the electricity pricing system that so called renewables are favoured over power stations with incentive subsidies for profit without or before producing operating profits.
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The major change to hybrid and EV servicing that’s going to cost you more
Australia’s maintenance industry is already struggling, but proposed changes to NSW’s repair industry could make servicing your hybrid and electric vehicle a whole lot harder.
If passed, this will require mechanics and technicians to complete a range of battery and electrical safety courses before they’re legally allowed to repair and service hybrids and electric vehicles in the state.
These certificates include general courses such as ‘Electric Vehicle Technology’, to more granular ones like ‘Automotive Underbody Work’ and ‘Battery Electric Vehicle Inspection and Servicing Skill Set’.
Should the proposed laws come into effect after the September 1, 2025 deadline, industry sources say the knock-on effects will be felt by consumers.
Should the law pass, it could mean that there is a lengthy wait to get your electric vehicle fixed or serviced – and it could cost a lot more too as there won’t be enough mechanics around to do the work. This, in turn, makes the market more competitive and allows those who can do it to charge more.
“This proposal creates a legislative barrier that will drastically reduce the number of qualified service providers overnight. It will drive up costs for consumers and cause serious delays in repair and servicing. It’s not just a workforce issue – it’s a consumer issue,” the AAAA CEO explained.
The national industry body predicts that “fewer than 50 qualified technicians” currently possess the nationally recognised EV certificates, “despite there being more than 80,000 BEVs [battery-electric vehicles] already in operation [in NSW]”.
Under the proposed changes to NSW’s Motor Dealers and Repairers Regulation, hybrid vehicles aren’t exempt from the legislative reform, with mechanics still required to have some EV-related qualifications to work on them, even if that work doesn’t involve anything to do with the hybrid powertrain.
“If a technician can safely service a Toyota hybrid, why are they banned from touching a BEV? The logic simply doesn’t hold. Hybrid vehicles include high-voltage components but are exempt under this proposal, but BEVs are not,” Charity said in a media statement.
The proposed laws state that a tradesperson with certificates in three repair classes, such as electrical accessory fitting work, radiator repair work, and steering, suspension, and wheel alignment work, will be prohibited from working on hybrid vehicles until they complete a mandatory course, dubbed ‘Depowering and reinitialising BEVs – AURETH101 Depower and reinitialise battery’.
In 2024 alone, 172,630 hybrid cars found new homes in New South Wales
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EV sales in Australia drop to lowest level in two years: AAA
The EV industry in Australia has suffered a massive hit, with some experts claiming a recovery might never be possible.
Electric vehicle sales in Australia have sunk to their lowest level in two years as more Aussies turn to the ‘range safety’ of traditional combustion engines or plug-in hybrids.
Data from the Australian Automobile Association revealed just 17,914 EVs were sold in the first three months of 2025 or just over 6 per cent of all vehicle sales in the country.
The AAA quarterly vehicle report showed the last time EV sales were at that level was in 2023 when 17,396 cars were sold during the same period.
The 2025 data also shows EVs have dropped market share when compared to the final three months of 2024 – 21,331 EVs were sold in the last quarter of 2024 to make up 7.42 per cent of the country’s vehicle sales.
That represents a drop of 1.12 per cent in market share quarter to quarter.
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If the government fleet EVs – Federal, State, Councils – are removed from the registration statistics how many are left?
Then remove the subsidised private sector fleet leased vehicles.
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Yes ,a like for like comparison on that basis would be interesting. Just those people spending their own money
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Add “repair safety” to “range safety.”
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The Government ARENA website is a good place to start.
Projects are segmented into various Categories with listing of projects and costs.
https://arena.gov.au/projects/?technology=wind&page=2
This page from AEIC gives relevant links
https://www.aeic.gov.au/energy-projects-and-infrastructure
On with the research . . .
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Johannes Leak cartoons
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Don’t worry about power prices yet. Just heard on local radio that “all power prices willing crease on the 1st of June”. This cheapest form of electricity certainly is getting a bit expensive.
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Yes. And the more of this “cheapest form of electricity” we get, the more expensive it becomes.
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No doubt Blackout Bowen will claim the Libs would make electricity more expensive than Labor so it is really cheaper under there policies
Much like their $275 ‘saving’ in the previous election. They changed the story to $275 cheaper than if Libs were in
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For NSW electricity customers 9% increase
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Bowen is on a gnocchi and a prayer.
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The magic web tells me that the southern hemisphere is home to about 10% of the human population.
It is noble of Australia to be so dedicated to solving our ‘carbon’ problem.
Thank you.
I think John Kerry should at least send a certificate of appreciation.
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Outside of Kerry’s official duties from when he was Secretary of State, last year he visited Perth for the The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).
That whole conference sounds like BS to me.
I assume he flew by private jet which he is rather fond of.
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Friedman Memorial Airport (IATA: SUN) serves Sun Valley, Idaho. It is located about 12 miles from the resort. Sun Valley, Idaho is considered a true gem among mountain destinations. A Winter Wonderland World-Class Skiing and Snowboarding.
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In my article on EV Charging from July 2023 I wrote about this. The concept is “Vehicle to Grid”.
https://www.siliconchip.com.au/Issue/2023/July/Charging+Electric+Vehicles
Vehicle to Grid (V2G)
Vehicle to Grid is a concept where
an EV acts as an energy reservoir for
the grid (https://w.wiki/6RHk). An EV
has a convenient large battery, gener-
ally much larger than home energy
storage batteries, such as:
• Tesla Powerwall (13.5kWh; http://
siliconchip.au/link/abk3).
• Enphase Energy (10.08kWh for IQ
Battery 10; siliconchip.au/link/abjz)
• LG Home Battery (16.0kW for
RESU16H Prime; siliconchip.au/link/
abk2)
• sonnenBatterie Evo (10kWh;
siliconchip.au/link/abk1)
• Redflow ZBM3 (10kWh; http://
siliconchip.au/link/abk5)
• DCS PV Series (15kWh; http://
siliconchip.au/link/abk0)
• Zenaji Aeon (1.93kWh, expand-
able; siliconchip.au/link/abk4)
Note that some hybrid vehicles sup-
port V2G, but they have much smaller
batteries than dedicated EVs, so they
will not work as well in this role.
The way it works is when an EV is
plugged into a home charger, power
can flow bidirectionally to either
charge the EV battery from the grid
or discharge it and export the energy
into the home or back into the grid to
meet local demand.
As with grid-scale batteries, the
objective is to charge the battery when
power is cheap and use it in the home
or export it when power is expensive.
Still, you would want to avoid totally
discharging it, especially when you
might need to use it.
Of cars available in Australia, V2G
is supported by the Nissan Leaf (full
EV, 39kWh), Mitsubishi Outlander
PHEV (hybrid, 20kWh) and Mitsubi-
shi Eclipse Cross (hybrid, 13.8kWh).
V2G Jetcharge (siliconchip.au/link/
abk6) are doing work in this area in
South Australia.
The Wallbox Quasar (siliconchip.
au/link/abk7), shown in Fig.22, is an
example of a bidirectional charger
suitable for V2G. It can charge or
discharge at up to 7.4kW, operating
between 150V and 500V and using
a CHAdeMO connector plus internet
connectivity.
Other carmakers supporting V2G
technology include:
• Volkswagen Group are building
V2G hardware into all their vehicles
that use their Second Generation Mod-
ular Electric Toolkit (MEB), a stan-
dardised EV platform. Vehicles on
this platform include various Audi,
Seat-Cupra, Skoda and Volkswagen
EVs using the Type 2 port.
• Porsche (part of VW) has been
testing the concept with the Taycan
EV; it may be able to be implemented
in future with a software update.
• The Ford F-150 Lightning pickup
truck in the USA supports V2G (see
Fig.23), although V2G is currently only
being tested: siliconchip.au/link/abk8
Tesla has not announced plans to
support V2G, although presumably,
they could implement it with a soft-
ware upgrade in some models.
Before using V2G, consider whether
it will shorten the expected life of
your EV battery and whether the cost
of replacing it will be higher than the
benefits of the V2G connection.
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Thanks for that info DM, I had wondered what that acronym meant. Like everything associated with the Green Blob Transition the concept of V2G is impractical. The time that the grid might want to salvage electricity back from plugged in BEV’s is the same time when owners would want to be charging their vehicles. As we know, peak demand is when everyone gets home from work/ school, cook their evening meal and depending on season turn on either their heater or AC. Now , also the time they would like to charge their BEV’s because they would most likely have low charge.
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Jo, that link doesn’t work.
00
I won’t when the EV battery is cut off when 10% remains and the system shuts down.
10
Link Fixed. Thanks David. “They want you in an EV so they can use your battery to rescue the unreliable grid they built”.
Actually, I also said that two years ago: Your EV shall be the backup battery for the grid to make wind and solar profits possible.
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Jo, Gummint subsidies make wind and solar “profitable”
00
Also your EV can be connected to your CCCP style ‘social credits’.
No power for you.
00
Hi Jo,
Very well done.
Stating the obvious:
The massive cost hikes don’t stop with the so-called high-voltage transmission network. Presuming that governments are able to con people to install home batteries, supporting the massive increase in bi-directional power flows will require very expensive upgrades to the entire transmission network, all the way down to the poles and wires in every street.
Then there is that annoying little matter of the absolute necessity to provide the “synthetic inertia” to replace the synchronous inertia presently provided innately by the current, dwindling, fleet of dispatchable generators. Finding a solution to this, providing the sheer scale of the phase-leading currents required to service grid outages under fault conditions, in a completely controlled manner, is going to prove to be very expensive indeed, assuming that it can be solved.
As Ross says above: utterly ridiculous.
Time to quit before they destroy the grid.
Regards,
Paul Miskelly
350
The bi-directional power flows will reduce as households install batteries. The midday solar power will be going into the household batteries, heat pump hot water systems and air-conditioners. The stored energy will be released during the afternoon/evening peak.
For the households with solar panels and batteries, the grid just becomes a very low cost insurance policy for the consecutive cloudy days. The poorer people who do not own a roof will carry the burden.
Australia has created a highly regressive power grid where the poor get to carry the burden for those less poor and wealthy.
260
The “insurance policy” only works in situations where a small number of random events (e.g. car accidents) can be covered by the other policy holders.
It won’t work in highly correlated events where everyone makes a claim on the same day.
Looking at this from a power generation perspective … what you describe as an “insurance policy” would need to cover the peak demand under worst case conditions … which means several cloudy days in a row and no wind either … all batteries discharged.
Then all of those solar households all reveal their electricity demand which was previously hidden … no way will the grid handle that. The wholesalers will never over-provision capacity to such a great extent. Therefore the one day you need it (also the one day everyone else needs it) that’s the day you will be on your own.
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They voted for Sleezy & Blackout. I doubt they will ever realise. They have been getting robbed for 20 years to pay my electricity bill. They are not fast on the pickup.
260
Australia has the UK Westminster System of Government and some US System added.
Both the UK and the US have no preferential voting and non-compulsory voting, first past the post wins, candidates with the most primary votes.
Two-thirds of Australian voters did not vote first for Labor at the recent Federal election.
100
It wouldn’t matter what kind of voting we have when The Blob control most of our media.
How could a third party like Farage’s start from scratch to get 30% of the vote if the ABC/Nine/Seven/Fairfax don’t mention them?
100
They should have seen this coming years ago
“They” did but in their arrogance “they” knew better. Let the taxpayer, who just so happens to also be the consumer, first throw money at it AND then pay for using it.
Following (summarised) quotes from search on BRAVE AI to supplement my memory of the “gold plated transmission network” controversy that raged between 2006-2014:
-substantial investments that were not justified by population growth, consumption, or peak demand improvements
-Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA), electricity consumers have paid much higher bills than necessary for “poles and wires,” gifting $10 billion to energy network providers over an eight-year period
-recommendations for state governments to write down the value of gold-plated assets, which could save households up to $400 a year
-consensus that significant investment in new transmission links and interstate connectors is necessary to support the transition to renewable energy sources
-debate over whether new transmission lines are necessary or gold plated continues, with some experts arguing that storing renewable energy closer to where it is produced could be a more efficient solution [supports using “your” EV to safeguard the network “conspiracy theory” lol]
The IEEFA report AI referred to was apparently released at 1 minute after midnight back in October 2022 with this article providing a good summation.
100
I think those that knew anything about electricity generation and distribution could foresee the problems. imo they loved the idea of the challenge. They gambled that technology was progressing so fast that all questions would be answered and problems solved within the decade. It was even stated in such terms, readable in newspapers. It was the favoured political response to any questioning about the renewables system. There was no attempt to explain a perceived problem mentioned by the public. The gamble has obviously failed!
Another year or so of this failure will, IMO, lead to a reversal of policy towards nuclear power. That allows the theory of Anthropogenic Global Warming to persist and solves the problems of emissions except the one of water vapour. The reasoning will be the landholders have blocked the governments most desired plans for renewables and forced their hand to nuclear options, and the rest of the world is doing it anyway for the same reasons. That means the cost of the interference with the traditional distribution lines will have to be repeated to restore a simplified system capable of handling the energy from the nuclear power plants.
Houses can keep their solar panels until they become dysfunctional and that will save an immediate problem of having to store large volumes of waste. There is no reason why electric vehicles cannot continue but there will be a charge on disposal of battery packs which will no longer have a commercial value. A similar fate will await wind turbines but they can be left in situ – as is now the case in earlier older systems where just the blades are removed to provide the standing columns more stability while they are left standing. Removal will simply be a cost against the use of the land when it becomes valued for other purposes.Sort of like those eucalyptus forests of yesteryear, planted for woodpulp exports but now being returned for agricultural use.
10
Good analysis but I much prefer the term intermittent to the term renewable.
230
Forrest, Me too, but nobody is googling “intermittent”. And if we want people to know Renewable = Bad, we have to say renewable sometimes.
90
The good thing about renewables is that it leads to a highly distributed network rather that a small number of large power stations that require high voltage reticulation that lose significant quantities of power in moving it around. Solar generation continues to get cheaper and cheaper, the challenge is to store that energy for short periods or be more flexibility in its utilisation. It’s not doom and gloom at all, the wins are to the environment, public health and cost, especially to those who have invested in small-scale generation.
155
Good propaganda requires an element of truth. This fails that test.
460
Do you not know why high voltage is used?
300
It is obvious that you have zero idea how grid power works.
Generation supplies the load.
Load is whatever might be connected to the generation grid.
The generation grid must provide total/active/reactive power to the load within 10 seconds to 10 minutes timeframe. In real time. No exceptions, no excuses, or the grid fails. total blackout.
Generation “follows the load” in real time, but a few seconds behind the load.
Solar and Wind “follow the load that thermal generation is following” a few seconds to minutes behind the actual load.
It is only the inertia of the thermal generation system and the fact that they provided active and reactive power within a controllable range that allows the grid frequency to be stable.
Grid current is a function of frequency and voltage. If the frequency or voltage drop, the grid current increases instantaneously, which places a greater torque load on the thermal generators, which cannot be supplied by the wind/solar inverters that follow the Mains frequency and voltage.
Wind and Solar are ALWAYS 2 steps removed from the reality of the grid, and unable to supply the transient loads that inertia inherently stabilizes.
That you have a large number of incapable generating units, 2 steps behind reality, is not a feature.
How does one dispatch reactive power from non-dispatchable generators in a matter of seconds to stabilize a load change that must be met to avoid grid collapse? Magic Inertia or prescient control theories?
Simon, it is clear that you do not comprehend grid scale power or grid scale stability or the idea of dispatchability as necessary to sustain an AC grid or the concept of inertia. Everything is simple to the ignorant.
If/when the grid collapses due to your dysfunctional ideas, what will be the “wins” with respect to the “environment, public health and cost” when the water supply stops, the sewage treatment stops, the traffic lights stop, the food spoils from lack of refrigeration, the road trains stop and starvation hits the cities, etc. There is simply no end to the ignorance and idiocy of your claims.
We live in reality, not some emotional fantasy. Reality has the final vote.
491
Lance great points, perhaps Simon can tell us what the estimated cost the the Spanish, Portuguese and some of the French economy was after the recent huge black out event experienced there? What were the “environmental, public heath and public cost benefits” of that event?
Perhaps he could ask those trapped in dark elevators, underground railways and multi story building how they felt about the “Benefits” of a weather dependant, non dispatchable, non synchronous system?
150
” “Benefits” of a weather dependent, non dispatchable, non synchronous system?”
Major disadvantages that the ordinary voter has absolutely no idea about.
20
Jo’s information places the cost at some 2 to 4 Billion Euros.
https://joannenova.com.au/2025/04/blackout-in-spain-to-cost-2-4-billion-euro-likely-due-to-solar-plants-blind-and-biased-abc-says-cause-is-a-mystery/
Another source places it at 2 Billion Euros.
https://www.thehrdigest.com/spain-power-outage-e2b-productivity-loss-in-2025-blackout/
At minimum, it is at least 1.4 Billion Euros.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/economy/iberian-blackout-costs-economy-1-4-billion-as-critiques-mount/ar-AA1DPT41
00
I was under the impression that reactive power was intended to be provided by the magic grid batteries..as part of their FCAS support,…indeed about the only practical use they can currently provide ,….and the primary source of income for their owners !
30
Normally, a grid operator looks at yesterday, and projects that today is similar, taking into account temperatures that affect aircon loads.
The ISO, grid operator, makes projections of what active, reactive, and total power requirements will exist for every second of the following day. Those seconds are grouped into 10 to 15 minute intervals. For each interval, a generation capacity requirement per generation source is theorized. If reality matches the projection, then all is well IF and ONLY IF each generator can contribute the theorized component. If Not, then “someone, somewhere, somehow” must make up the difference, or the grid collapses.
ONLY the thermal/steam generated/turbine generated/Hydro generated resources can be dispatched at will. ONLY those resources can have their alternator field windings changed to provide more or less reactive power, thereby stabilizing the grid voltage. Only their inertial mass can stabilize the transient loads and , in turn, the grid frequency, and thereby stabilize the grid current.
When Reactive power supply is unable to support Reactive power demand, the grid goes into voltage decay, then the rising current demands cause frequency decay, which both create a spiraling grid collapse.
It is a miracle that the generators and operators balance these things in a window of seconds to keep the lights on. Those Power Engineers and System Operators perform the nearly impossible, every second of every day. The parasitic subsidy hounds do nothing to stabilize the grid or benefit the public.
The actual solution is to require all generators, be they coal/gas/nuclear/hydro/solar/wind to “Bid Into The Load, 24 hours in advance, based upon yesterday’s demand curve, and do so with absolute guarantee of delivery. That would require each generator to bond/bid/buy whatever power is necessary at any price, to guarantee delivery. That separates the Men from the Boys, right quick in a hurry.
10
..obviously not a uniformly held view..
00
“Simon, it is clear that you do not comprehend grid scale power or grid scale stability or the idea of dispatchability as necessary to sustain an AC grid or the concept of inertia. Everything is simple to the ignorant.”
What Simon does comprehend though is propaganda, the green blob puts it out and low info folk like our Simon swallow it whole
60
You forgot the sarcasm tag.
🙄
10
I guess “Baghdad Bob” has moved to OZ.
70
“leads to a highly distributed network” = LOTS of poles, wires and batteries aka Very Expensive.
“high voltage reticulation that lose significant quantities of power” i.e sub 1%losses as opposed to double digit for batteries/ pumped hydro round trips.
“be more flexibility in its utilisation” aka shiver in the dark when the wind doesn’t blow.
“the wins are to the environment, public health and cost” Wind kills birds, bats, insects and ruins the health of humans nearby. Reducing CO2 starves plants, and the whole ‘renewable’ thing has blown out electricity costs.
That’s a lot of wrongs pretending to be rights.
60
I just came back to see if Simon had explained the new reality to Lance, but alas.
This Simon style of thinking is probably the best Bowen can muster also; on a good day.
20
You would think that before spending trillions of dollars on this global warming “ problem “ that any sane person would seek empirical evidence that man is warming the planet.
370
I’ll even concede that man bears some responsibility for warming the planet.
What I won’t concede is that warming is bad.
Warmer climates have always been a boon to humanity. Human civilization has only sprung up because we are living during a warm interglacial period of an ice age. If the glaciers hadn’t receded back towards the poles 12,000 years ago, human civilization might have never made it out of the stone age. Warm periods have always brought great human advancement, while cold periods have always brought famine, pestilence, and suffering. The more warming and CO2, the better as far as I am concerned. If it costs us a little beachfront property, so be it.
181
‘ … man bears some responsibility for warming the planet.’
That is disinformation, humans are not responsible for planetary warming.
60
They are responsible for the miniscule warming that is the sum of all UHI effects world wide.
Total, approximately a poofteenth of bugger all.
50
When you look at the graphs, we are only just out of an ice age, just a smidgen.
00
only just out of an ice age
Is that coming or going in relation to that ice age?
I suppose in geological time scales – both.
10
We have 300-600 years of coal without building ANY transmission lines.
And COAL IS FREE.
Plus it is supplying 83% of the electricity in Australia. While wind suppliers are being paid twice, paid for the fact of generation even when their power is not sold. This is like Europe’s Wine Lake and Butter Montain. Ultimately the consumers pick up all the costs of this Labor/Green fantasy.
330
I wrote this in 2006:
And in 4730 solar and wind will still have a rubbish cap factor and SMRs will power your car.
350
On the subject of lignite, brown coal from the Yallourn valley is 68.9% water. Around 2007 Monash University and a Bacchus Marsh company invented a way to extract the water. And secured a sale of $400million from India. No one wants to ship dirty water. This was stopped by an edict of the Brumby/Thwaites Victorian government. Which was appalling. As a result of the front page Age campaign to stop the company making the coal ‘blacker’.
So no need to add the water apart from that produced in combusion.
As for Conservation, the wholesale destruction of vistas, protected land, farms, forests and ridges by windmills and transmission lines will be viewed in hindsight as the greatest ecological devastation in Australia’s history. So Green companies can make profits. None of this is needed, not an additional 30,000km of transmission lines, something they now say is 10,000km.
Plus upgrade to HELE would mean half the CO2 and that means the coal lasts twice as long. If it was seriously about reducing CO2, why aren’t they all HELE already, without building ANY transmission lines? For long transmission, increasing the voltage on existing lines or HVDC could double power or save coal.
We also read consistently of ‘tired’ ‘ageing’ coal generation. Which is rubbish. Like Grandpa’s axe it is all serviceable. When Hazelwood was closed it was operating at 98% of design limits. Unlike wind and solar which will not last 20 years. So by the time these projects are finished, everything will have to be done again. That’s not investing. That’s throwing our money away.
300
I hear you, T.
30
A couple of times I have commented on this blog (and other sites) that Victoria has over 500 years supply of easily accessible brown coal and have people contradict me. In the US, they have the same problem. That country also has huge reserves of coal. Even the low sulphurous type in places like Utah. But thanks to EPA, Al Gore and idiot US administrations, those reserves have been locked up after declaration of state/ national parks. I think the US even imports low sulphurous coal from places like Indonesia. Victoria also has big reserves of easily accessible gas. But that has been locked up due to insistence from Green politicians who share a coalition with Labor in the Victorian upper house or parliament. So now, our idiot leaders talk about building gas import terminals. You cant make this stuff up.
230
All true. But no one is talking about WHY they are doing it. We didn’t have a problem in the first place and they are talking hundreds of billions to solve a problem? What problem? Where is the proof there is a single problem with what we had?
180
Question for those who know, is it possible for a typical Australian suburban house to go 100% off-grid 365 days?
I.e. do they have enough roof area for all the panels which would be required, including in winter?
Obviously apartments and other multiple dwellings would not have enough space.
I think we’re heading to a situation where everyone who can go off-grid will do so and the rest will stay on-grid but with no solar panels it they don’t have roof space but they will have batteries to capture those intermittent electrons on the rare occasions when they come to your home.
110
No it is not possible and even if it was the cost would be eye watering and even if you did If every house on your area went off grid you would blow the bejessus out of the transformers trying to push the power back across them and into the grid so it wont work, you cant send your power “back into the grid” without making major design changes to the grid itself. All you can do is reduce (perhaps to zero) your load on the grid.
The cult of doom are like a punch drunk boxer staggering around the ring trying to avoid the knock out blow.
140
I’m off grid. 100%. No grid connection. Have been this way for over 15 years. So YES, it can be done.
I’ve got 35kWHr of usable battery storage. 8kVA inverter, (peaks at about 20kVA, if required). Solar panels are around 8kW.
Using a 20% efficiency value for solar and 1000W solar input, you could work out that I have around 45m2 of panels, (includes minor gaps, etc). IF an average house is 250m2 and one quarter of that area points in an ideal direction, then you have MORE than enough roof area to house the panels. If you have eaves, then you could use even more area.
So yes, you can go off grid. I’m in NE Vicdanistan. Sunlight is probably better than Melb but you can always add more panels to your roof and still be under that 1/4 of the roof area.
And for extra info, the house has A/C for cooling and heating. Primary heat, because I have free firewood, is a small wood fired heater. Cooking is gas, with the addition of electrical appliances, including microwave, slow cooker, air fryer, toaster, kettle etc.
So yes. It can be done.
40
$160,000 worth of wind and solar power with batteries can’t power two homes alone
A doctor goes off grid in Victoria, and even with subsidies for the solar panels it is “delusional” he says.
He has two 3 bedroom homes, with 30 solar panels and a 1kW wind turbine each. For storage they have about 30 German lead acid batteries which at current prices is about $15,000 of batteries each. But even so, each house still has bottled gas stoves, and a 6 kVA petrol generator.
Even above all that equipment that needs gas, fuel and maintenance and cost about $160,000 in total to set up, they still have to grow, cut and collect, ouch, 100 kg of wood (220lbs) per week in winter for each house.
70
I really thought that a doctor’s intelligence, would have steered him or anyone with an average knowledge of math & arithmetic, well away from the folly of wind ,solar & batteries. Maybe this particular Dr. was more concerned with the failure of the entire grid & installed it as an emergency backup. But to do it & unplug from the grid…….? 😵💫😵💫
10
you dont need to take math as a subject to get a 99 ATAR to become a doctor
00
Michael Mobbs aka The Off-grid guy” took his Sydney terrace off mains water and sewerage in 1996 and then in March 2015 “…disconnected from the poles and wires of the main electricity grid, and since then solar panels and batteries have powered the house”.
Being “local” he may be a good starting point and he even offers his services as a sustainability coach to help people follow in his footsteps.
11
Roof space is no object for me to go off grid. Winter is not an issue at all because it is simply a matter of tilting the panels to maximise winter input, an angle of 60 degrees to horizontal is best for 37S.
My annual electricity bill will average around $300 per year – no longer using gas. I will draw almost no power from the grid and will be a net generator. To go off grid, I would need to spend $30k more. So spending $30k to save $300 per year is not a sensible investment. I do not need grid power unless there are a couple of very cloudy days or I switch on a toaster, kettle and washing machine when the sun is not shining. So the grid remains a valuable resource that I get for next to nothing. And I am not alone.
As a matter of interest, our newest neighbour built high pitched roofs at about 45 degrees facing north to maximise solar collection. The house was purpose designed for the block. He currently has 6kW of panels but there is room for more than double that.
New suburban housing blocks are so small that there is no room for decent trees so little risk of shading providing the houses are built to the same level.
80
Good on ya.
California has figured you out. You’re using their lines/poles/wires to avoid paying the distribution cost of the power “you didn’t use”. And, you’re using the surge current of the public utility to satisfy the instantaneous demands your own system cannot provide.
So, in California, you would be charged about USD 40 for the power you didn’t use, and USD 50 for the demand charges your connection required.
To avoid those charges, you can request disconnection from the grid. Otherwise, pay the overhead . Your scheme requires others to pay for your benefit, and that will change as soon as the utility company understands economics.
90
That is correct. It is a government sanctioned freebie for me at the expense of others. But the theft has been going on for 25 years now. If more people had taken advantage of the theft then the pack of cards would have collapsed sooner. It is only now that anything like the real costs and causes are having the dots connected. Their CSIRO are still promoting “renewables” are the cheapest form of electricity generation.
As far as I have observed, only Sky News Australia comes close to reporting accurately on this train wreck. Their ABC has been firmly behind the theft.
I give more detail below at #17 on what it would cost me to go off grid and the potential saving. The NEM is between a rock and a hard place because charging me for the full utility of the grid would send me and many more off grid. My lousy $300 per year is better than nothing.
60
I thought that you said that you averaged 10 kWh daily Rick. That’s below Australia’s average of 15 kWh daily, and I suspect most suburban homes use a lot more. On that basis, I don’t believe that it’s possible to go off grid with the standard suburban house in Australia.
10
The heat pump hot water saves a huge amount of energy compared to gas. The induction cooktop also uses next to nothing and avoids the gas connection. The reverse cycle air-conditioning is energy efficient but my wife prefers the wood burner for heating.
A key feature of energy efficiency is good insulation and window coverings. A new build would benefit from double glazing, which is now more common in Australia.
The house was built with 5 bedrooms when we had children at home. There are only two of us now. If I was building again, I would place even more priority on energy efficiency and roof readily suited to solar panels.
20
In practical terms getting to 90% or 95% self supply is pretty easy. It is the last 5% or 10% that is the hard part. For example my panels only provide enough energy to heat my pool in summer.
I would say that you need to be willing to go without electricity for periods of time. How long and how often is just a matter of planning.
In my own case in rural Qld the I pay about $5 per month for grid electricity.
80
I think the key part of you question is in the suburban word.
There are many things you can do if you live on a large block, especially regionally. There are many thing you can do if you have technical competence. In the suburbs and for the average consumer I would say its impractical and places you in the hands of small support organisations when things go pear shaped on Friday night.
00
My new grid battery is in but will not be switched on till July 1. It is only 5kWh. Just enough to carry me through overnight without hitting the grid. It has a 3kW inverter so a little support from the grid when the oven gets turned on and is heating up or if the kettle, toaster and washing machine are all on at once and there is no sunshine.
I have 6kW of solar panels and 10kWh of batteries in total. The household has an electrical energy surplus over a year. But 10kWh is not enough to ride through two days of consecutive cloud so I am still dependent on the grid.
To go off-grid, I would need to have 9kW of solar panels, 30kWh of batteries, a 20kW inverter and a small autostart diesel. About 3 times the cost of what I now have. So I am paying about $300 per year to leach off the grid to avoid spending $30k. And no way will my battery be used to export the grid. I know that its life depends on how often it gets cycled so there is a cost for others to use it.
This is BS. many households that have installed batteries will understand that the battery life is related to cycle life so the economic rational choice is to preserve the life by not allowing others to use its capacity. Also what happens to a vehicle battery warranty if the battery is used to support the grid.
Household solar with batteries will reduce the average grid demand but will not have much impact on the peak demand. And grid scale weather dependent generators are not dispatchable so there will be no reduction in the requirement for dispatchable generators. They will just have less output to spread fixed costs over.
The electricity supply in Australia remains highly regressive. Those who can afford solar and batteries can leach off the grid while those who do not own a roof to put the solar panels on are carrying those who can.
The current rebates for heat pump hot water and battery should make it economic for any owner occupier to purchase these items. Both the battery and the hot water can be timed to take power when the cost is low and provide energy when the cost is high. It provides a means to leach off the excess solar coming into the grid.
110
The only thing of value in a battery car is the battery, when the battery fails the value of the car is essentially zero and now the clowns in charge want to drain your battery so someone else can boil a kettle?
The new plan seems to be to charge your car battery overnight supposedly when power is cheap and then drain your car battery during the day when power is expensive and how much is your (the customers) cut in this money go round?
120
‘How much is your cut ?”.
Yes, that’s something I would like to know, it will be a percentage, likely a low one.
10
It would have been nice if AEMO announced the cost blow outs for transmission lines before the election.
160
Yes, we can all dream.
The first priority of AEMO is of course to continue to exist and if possible expand the size of their bureaucracy. Biting the hand that feeds them must be avoided at all costs.
160
As Rick Will and others, including myself, have pointed out, the election just 3 weeks ago returned Elbow and Blackout with a 90+ seat number through the illogic of compulsory “preferences”.
That is the opposite to middle-class revolt. When power is rationed to homes, rather than just industry, the voting pattern will become more volatile of course, but there will be no choice offered anyway.
The grid is already ruined. Farmers may try to deny “social licence” to AEMO but those electorates do not vote ALP and do not matter electorally. The suburbs are increasingly populated by imported voters who will stay with those who allow large-scale “family reunions”.
The Aus middle class will never revolt. That cohort will just increasingly squabble amongst themselves to try and maintain living standards. I hear with increasing frequency, especially from the female voters, their impatience with the use of words and phrases like “gigawatt-hours” or “spinning inertia”. These people do not know any useful science or basic engineering and do not wish to. Most do not even know what cooling towers are for, since they have no clue on even the basics of thermal power generation. That’s smoke, not steam, I’ve been told so many times.
The Spanish experience has been memory-holed.
220
That most recent Spanish/Portugese/ French incident has been memory holed, hasn’t it? I don’t think I have seen a satisfactory explanation as to the reason for the blackouts a couple of weeks ago. A film I have enjoyed a lot is ” Snowden”, that film by Oliver Stone with Joseph Gordon-Levitt playing Ed Snowden, who uncovered the surveillance of the US people by their own intelligence bodies. At some stage in his career ES is sent to Japan as a CIA operative. One of his roles is to convince the Japanese to “play ball” with the US. If they didn’t, the CIA had the ability to shut down the Japanese electricity grid. The film is based on some books so you would have to believe there is some truth in the Japanese story. Did Spain recently not play ball with either the US or EU for some reason and their penalty was to have the grid crashed? Food for thought.
30
Jo reported on how the Spanish power grid has been running in “strengthened mode” since the blackout, ie more nuclear and gas is being used in the grid. Very little about that being reported in MSM.
I was surprised to see that the SMH ran this story today. It says the Woodside CEO and others are calling for more gas exploration in Australia to provide supplies for grid stability.
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/spain-blackout-shows-need-for-gas-in-a-greener-world-woodside-ceo/ar-AA1FvgT3
40
The group think here was that no true sceptic could vote lib, to be pure one needed to vote for a libertarian.
None have mentioned how their No 1 candidate did, [Why not?] but without preferential voting no third party candidate could ever get up. In fact the greens would never have got off the ground as a party without it.
Without preferential voting the unaparty rules 4EVA as it does in the US.
10
Nothing illogical about preferential voting. It might not have returned my desired result this time. But that’s not because of the voting system. It’s because most people didn’t vote how I would have liked them to.
Preferential voting means the majority gets what it wants. Or at least doesn’t get what it doesn’t want.
First past the post risks being ruled by the minority.
Preferential voting also allows minor parties to be supported. You can vote for a minor party knowing you have a second chance of getting a candidate you at least somewhat like through your preference vote.
If we didn’t have preferential voting then people would cast their primary vote very differently. So we can’t conclude that a party only won because of preferences.
30
Those with solar batteries should be able to isolate them for their own CER use so that the greedy energy companies can’t commandeer the stored power. But apart from that, it’s not hard to predict that Australia is heading for a cripling energy disaster under Chris Bowen and his Trot-Labour mates, where large swathes of grid materiel, partly constructed wind turbines, solar farm and associated infrastructure will lie useless in depots around the country due to cost blowouts and mismanagement. There’s a reasonable chance that Trot-Labour will lose the next election over this looming debacle. Unfortunately these politicians will dacamp with generous taxpayer funded retirement benefits and leave the good ole Aussie taxpayer to foot the bill for the mess. Australians will have to come to terms with a hardscrabble existence in an Australia that has become an energy resource for other countries but not for Australians. And on an even bleaker note, the once beautiful Australian landscape and arable land will have become a no-man’s land of clapped out wind turbines and disintegrating solar farms.
140
Agreed, but I think bureaucratic inertia is the single largest factor. The politicians are then “guided” by the bureaucracy into policy settings only a bureaucrat would approve.
90
25 years ago the cost of high voltage transmission cables in the US was US $1M/mile. So 25 years on and converting to $A, we’re probably looking at A$2M/km. 10,000km of transmission cables should be easy to afford while heavy industry is leaving the country.
Makes the $600B Labor claimed that it would cost the country for nuclear look like chicken feed. But the Liberal Party remains clueless.
150
It’s worse than that. The wind farms will be in inconvenient and mountainous places and will require much clearing of wilderness.
110
The Liberal Party is in on the scam.
80
Cough, cough, Turnbull, Photios, Speakman, et al.
60
So you are happy that we have a labor government then.
00
Those are your words. Lee’s statement alone is sufficient to indicate disapproval of both major parties. I agree, and so it seems, do the Nationals.
10
And the rest. Current transmission line cost per km is around A$13m and rapidly increasing. Look at HumeLink and EnergyConnect for their latest costs.
50
I think your maths is out a bit…
??….$2M/km for 10,000km is” only” $20Bn……?
Even at $13M/km , it would still “ only” be $130Bn …
40
Yep, transmission line cost, while high, would not be the main cost. If batteries are chosen for the primary backup, that would be the major cost. But it’s increasingly looking like they are planning to use gas as backup.
10
Do gas pipelines cost more or less than high voltage power lines?
10
It doesn’t work that way.
Do a search on the cost of Snowy 1 then adjust for inflation. It was ridiculously cheap in todays $s.
A few years back now but they built a new hospital in Adelaide. Was it REALLY more expensive than the Opera House or Parliament house?
Adelaide Hospital Costs
The new Royal Adelaide Hospital, which opened in September 2017, is the most expensive building ever constructed in Australia, costing $2.44 billion in construction and equipment costs.
AI-generated answer. Please verify critical facts.
20
If all of this wasn’t so devastating for all of us consumers, the regions and industry, this would have been the biggest joke ever.
How did these inner-city tree-hugging people think this was going to play out – on rainbows and unicorn farts? Did they really think die-hard capitalists the likes of Big Oil and “philanthropic” investors like eg Holmes-a-Court, Turnbull etc got into this game for the good of anybody other than their own back pockets? Where there’s government subsidies being thrown around, expect the vultures to circle. At the end of the day us consumers are going to pay a heck of a lot more for electricity (remember they’re pushing for electrification only – so there will be a monopoly), and the same (or maybe a different) bunch are going to be making the money, and the environment be damned. The joke’s on the fools who advocate for this and keep on voting for this despite seeing the contrary results with their own eyes (where’s my $275.00)…
110
So when you want to charge the battery of your compulsory EV, they want to discharge it. What could possibly go wrong?
120
Just unplug the thing once it’s charged.
00
What AEMO has yet to factor in to its cost calculations is the increased capacity needed to charge all those EVs, once this government bans choice after 2030.
Suburban electricity networks will need the capacity to charge at least one EV at each house. Urban areas will need kerbside charging points, as will all major highways, country roads, and more!
How many chargers will be needed? No one seems to be saying! But they don’t exist today!
And who will pay for all this?
90
Don’t forget, for energy rich Australians this is not about getting adequate energy. We have had that all our lives. It is about destroying what we have and importing replaceables. All this stuff is coming from overseas. We are paying for it by exporting coal and iron ore, vast generators of CO2. Very recently our biggest customer, China, refused our coal to punish us for showing independence and questioning the origins of the Wuhan flu.
And this massive export wealth is only about reducing CO2. Why is unexplained. Something about Climate but no one wants to talk about actual quantifiable benefits for this expense. We can export coal and gas but we must never, ever use it ourselves.
When we run out of these riches, as Dubai did, what will be left? We stopped making cars. Aircraft. We don’t make phones or computers or electronics. Our biggest windtower manufacturer Keppel Prince in Portland just went broke. Are we gambling on a boom in Antarctic sightseeing?
Not the Clever Country.
180
In an interesting, if frightening, development, I got a letter from the W.A. gummint the other day telling me that they are going to install a smart electricity meter on my property – incidentally without my consent.
The letter prattled on about efficiency of billing and monitoring, blah, blah, blah, but the simple fact is that this device can, and will, be used to remotely cut off or reduce the amount of power I can use, any time it suits some snivel servant trying to prevent a general blackout or enforce some WHO Treaty to force me to comply with medical procedures against my will.
They’ve made it pretty clear that compliance with the new WHO Treaty will be enforced by any means at their disposal.
210
SA power tried that on me two years ago and I told them to GF themselves, the person asked why I did not want one, I gave them the same reasons you mention above and they have not contacted me since.
140
Next time they won’t ask. I now have a smart meter, replacing the (less than 5 years old) digital one. No permission requested or denied, get home from work, new meter installed.
20
In WA they still have to ask and we have the right to opt out of a smart meter. Though they will hassle and hassle you and phone and eventually install a smart meter which — if you demand it — has the electronic network chip taken out, so it can’t send out your details. The meter reader still has to come out. Though the meter reader person won’t come often and they will just guesstimate use most of the time.
50
I have a new meter I wasn’t asked about. ATM the bill hasn’t changed but I suspect the capacity to go “smart” is built in.
The pretence, I assume, is my savage maltese that is a classic lounge lizard I doubt the postie even knows we have. The wallabies and scrub turkeys in my back yard are blissfully unaware he exists. But Ergon no longer has to expose a meter reader to the perils of a man eater.
10
“The meter reader still has to come out.”
Good heavens! 😉
For many years my electric provider has used one-way radio transmitters to make the readings. Meaning a small airplane flies over the area and the data from the meters is uploaded. This system is now old enough that it is no longer supported by manufactures.
In 2025 the utility will initiate Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI).
“This meter technology is the current standard for metering and has been implemented for years across the world and more than 70% of the nation. These smart meters have two-way communication capability between the PUD and the meter, as well as memory to store and share important technical information.”
Kittitas County, Washington State: https://www.kittitaspud.com/240/Advanced-Metering-Infrastructure-AMI
00
In Victoriastan the meters were compulsory.
My power bills seemed to increase after I got it.
And the meter has many potentially useful features such as being able to see instantaneous power consumption but these features are disabled, not sure why.
40
I have a digital meter which has lots of features available, they wanted to install a smart meter which i refused to accept
40
How can you tell if a meter is only digital and not smart?
10
To have solar panels on the roof a smart meter is required (at least in WA)
Originally there was small advantage in that the two monthly readings were done by a wireless link. Which worked after an external (to the meter box) antenna was added.
Conversion to reading over the electrical grid system seems to have some “issues” however since a contractor came out to read the meter for the last billing period. And after his visit, the site usage became available.
20
Ok, and Synergy has re-programmed the meters in our unit complex as each unit adds solar. In one case, a new meter was fitted. Must lookup the specs for the meters.
00
A smart meter will have multiple “outputs” wired into your fridge or oven or A/C or washing machine etc so they can turn these items off at their choosing, where as a digital meter will have one output that simply provides power to your meter box. Also a smart meter might have an antenna (internet connection) on it (maybe looks like the antenna on top of a coke machine you see at the shops).
Actually the best way to tell is this way, AGL left a note saying they tried to read my meter the other day but they could not because the gate was locked, if you have a smart meter they wont need to come to your house and read your meter.
00
Musy vary by State then. We have a smart meter and all it can “know” about is out buildings, water heater, and house distribution. Things like acs,fridge, washer etc are all behind a sub board
00
How are you compelled? They need access to the meter to change it.
I suggest a large dog between front gate and meter.
00
Smart Meters are not compulsory until 2030. We have posted a notice on our meter box to ensure the sneaky bturds don’t just rock=up and install one.
00
Batteries are such a poor investment. They don’t last forever. And a long time down the road always gets here sooner than you think. And I bet they lie a little about how long they really last, and how safe and effective they are. You can bet they down play the costs, too.
130
Another misleading aspect of batteries is their stated capacity.
While the capacity stated is usually true (except for Chinese batteries on Ebay), it is usually based upon capacity from full discharge to full charge.
If a battery is operated between those extremes it will deteriorate much faster than if it is operated between, say 30% charge and 80% charge. In that case you are only using 50% of stated capacity but tue battery (cell) will last much longer.
100
They last a long time if you don’t use them. 😀 The 12V battery in my hybrid lasted 13 yrs because it doesn’t crank the motor and I never leave it locked in the garage so [a guess I admit] there is no quiescent drain for the entry system while it sits for days.
00
As a consequence of the grid collapse in Spain just over two weeks ago I was prompted to calculate the amount of grid backup batteries necessary to provide for a sun and wind “drought” of 12 hours in Australia at net zero. This would occur at night when the wind is not blowing, and is a limiting case of the net zero fantasy.
At current levels 12 hours of electricity consumption in Australia is 2.23 TW hours, and the cost of the battery capacity necessary for 12 hours backup was approximately $780 billion approximately half of Australia’s current GDP. This assumes no further use of fossil fuels in any form for ongoing electricity supply.
If you want to keep the lights on in the dark when is a wind drought with the ultimate objective of “net zero” that would be the cost. In addition you would have to find approximately $100 billion per annum to cover depreciation and replacement of batteries. I would challenge “Blackout Bowen” and the “Liar in the Lodge” to undertake the same calculation and refute my assertion.
90
You are assuming Bowen can do calculations….
70
You must mean Minister Huff and Puff who can barely calculate when to take his next breath
00
Better add some more backup hours if you want to achieve the stated 99.998% reliability. Tony and Paul’s wind data shows at least one 72-hour dunkelflaute. And 48-hour dunkelflautes are common.
10
I just got am email saying to check my eligibility for a $4500 Australian federal government battery rebate.
Obviously it’s misleading because the money doesn’t come from “the government” but frpm those few of us left paying net tax.
100
Not sure why but I believe the beginning of the end is in sight. It won’t be pretty but it will be heelingly expensive.
Guess it’s a case of “ it’s Trump’s fault “
How the hell did we get into this situation????
10
“How the hell did we get into this situation????”
‘We’ didn’t get into this situation, we were dragged into it by wimmins and other know-nothing low info voters, who vote according to the ‘vibe’.
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Jo,
I suggest keeping an eye on our Western Australia WEM system, they are already progressing with this strategy with what Synergy (WA gov owned largest power generator and retailer) call DER- Distributed Energy Resources which includes everything from Home Solar, home batteries, EV’s to SMART appliances, heat pumps, ACs etc. This is where the energy retailers and/or market operator have control of your equipment. They also refer to it as VPP -Virtual Power Plants, were customers opt in this system- Quote for Synergy website “A Virtual Power Plant (VPP) organises and aggregates selected distributed energy resources (DER). While VPPs are made up of multiple DER assets in various locations, they can be centrally coordinated to provide the same services to the electricity system as traditional power plants, such as gas or coal-fired power stations.
VPPs help keep the power system stable and enable more renewable energy on the grid.”
I notice Reneweconomy’s NEMwatch shows a higher percentage of Wind/Solar than what other Generation sites like Open Electricity show for the total average https://www.nem-watch.info/widgets/reneweconomy/
https://explore.openelectricity.org.au/energy/wem/?range=7d&interval=30m&view=discrete-time&group=Detailed
I think Labor Federal and State parties will be pushing for WA WEM to become the next poster child of the Renewables cult since the SA story isn’t going so great no matter how much the zealots claim it is.
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In the W.A WEM, also referred to as the SWIS (South Western Integrated System), Synergy recently executed the permanent retirement of Muja #6 200MW coal fired unit only for the reason of the Climate Cult’s “coal is bad” mantra.
This leaves 5 coal fired units in the market. They are eagerly looking forward to closing their 26 yr old Collie A 340MW unit in OCT 2027, this will drop the coal fired capacity to 800MW from 4 units, 2 Synergy owned being Muja 7 & 8, 2 privately owned at Bluewaters Power Station.
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Who were the engineers and accountants who recommended Australia transition to intermittent hybrid system reliant on wind and sunshine?
What stupid people otherwise known as politicians and cabinet ministers passed the legislation ignoring engineering and deciding to quickly phase out power stations, coal and gas fuelled, before the hybrid system was proven to be satisfactory?
And worse, who now pass off gas as being acceptable for firming purposes, meaning most of the generating that remaining coal fired power stations and hydro electric power stations, and some diesel generating plants are generating?
State governments paying compensation to coal fired power station owners to not close down.
Obviously the original proven reliable power station fleet system with replacements and upgrading was the answer if there was a question.
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Denis, sadly the woke mind virus / climate hysteria seems to effect many who should know better, didn’t Jordan Peterson say this type of irrational thinking is MORE inclined to effect those from academic backgrounds?
Engineers Australia is one such group so effected as to cancel a speaking engagement by a nuclear expect on the whim of Simon Holmes a Court’s say so.
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I have given up on seeing Dead People I now see Lawyers everywhere!
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“….and it could end up delivering the most significant change to the country’s renewable energy blueprint yet.”
Blueprint? Seriously? has Parkinson really deluded himself to the extent that he thinks there is a plan? Random decisions based on dogma and virtue signalling and subsidy harvesting do make an energy policy, strategy or plan.
Or does he mean the sort of “blueprint” Spain had?
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The ‘tag’ on this on the ABC front page is “alternative energy” …. I am not sure, but I am getting an idea that ABC has AI doing its thumbnails – it throws up some odd stuff with language not anywhere in the body of the story sometimes – and the AI is seeing the ‘winds of change’ (scuse the pun)
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-05-27/dederang-fire-risk-battery-renewable-projects-cfa/105283348
in response to the backlash against the proposals, Mr Zhong compared the rejection of the batteries to kids who refuse to go to school.
“My kid doesn’t like to go to prep, but then I have to tell them ‘hey, going to prep is … part of your journey to actually learn and study and to become an adult’,” he said.
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I for one welcome my new grid management overlords, and will willingly supply all the energy they need from the battery of any EV I own. No charge, it’s for the planet after all.
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Why do I hope that your acquisition of an EV(or even hybrid) is a remote speculation for the far future?
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No it hasnt quite reached that level of serious consideration
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Pretty sure years ago, when prices were about 16c/kwh, poles and wires was about 80% of power bills here in WA.
Infrastructure only gets older,lots more wood poles back then and cost of steel wages etc. has gone up
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All this V2G hype as a grid scale venture is beyond me sadly. I readily admit to being a bear of little brain, and when I look at V2G it all seems a fine idea till I look at the 2G part and get to the first low voltage transformer. Then my brain hurts.
How all this has any possibility to support wide scale grid operations , beyond some demand reduction, escapes me.
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Meanwhile CO2 is the only source of carbon for plants. Google it.
They want to somehow remove CO2 from the atmosphere = no trees = no Dioxide(O2) = a dead planet.
Eugene Houdry invented the catalytic converter made compulsory in the 1980’s for all new cars that over 30 years removed the poisonous SMOG from over all the worlds cities and no one noticed! In schools this truth telling is hidden from the kids even though NASA has announced the world is greening at an unprecedented rate. At Day break all plants absorb the Carbon then return the O2 at days end. The atmosphere is thereby maintained at 21% dioxide – any more and forest fires would not be able to be extinguish ed / any less and the food in our mouths wouldn’t oxidise so the planet would suffer a slow death.
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