Submitted 4 months ago by cuban_Pete@lemy.lol to australia@aussie.zone
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-03/energy-retailers-offer-free-power-three-hours-dmo/105965472
“Free” lol. Power companies definitely won’t be increasing their power costs in the other 21 hours after being literally forced by the government to give it away for “free” for 3 hours.
Also you have to sign up to a new power plan that will no doubt have higher and/or new daily fees, requires a smart meter, and I’m pretty sure is VPP enabled meaning the power company can steal your power and charge you for the privilege.
I’m pretty sure is VPP enabled meaning the power company can steal your power and charge you for the privilege.
With a VPP you are paid for exporting power from your battery to the grid when there are price peaks.
You get money for doing this and if enough people do it the price spikes flatten down saving everyone on the grid money.
www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/vpps-have-pros-cons/
Also the government recently made it legal for power companies to charge you for your exports, which you need to be on a VPP for them to do, and at the same time the government is incentivising everyone to get a smart meter, on a VPP, and solar and batteries……
Coincidence?
Call me cynical but I suspect this will mainly shift load for the benefit of the network operators.
I wouldn’t be surprised if supply charges and non-free hours go up to offset any income loss for the electricity suppliers. Weatlhy home owners with solar pv, large power demands, and expensive appliances who can take advantage of free hours might be better off. People in rentals or poorer home owners might be worse off and it could be yet another wealth transfer.
Oh definitely. Rather telling that vic doesn’t get a look in - the state that’s entirely smart meters and infrastructured to enable this.
Eh. This is really a short-term problem. The real value of this is that it creates a market incentive for other companies to build storage and off-peak energy usage.
This may end up being the most affordable way of moving to a 100% renewable grid. Solar panels are so stupid cheap now that the best option may be to build some minimal storage, but solve most power swings by just absolutely spamming solar panels. You build enough to provide your average daily need in the lowest-producing months. Then the rest of the year you have dirt cheap power. Some power-intensive industries just become seasonal. We have a farming season. Why can’t we have an aluminum smelting season or a AI model training season? Maybe the guys working in the aluminum foundry work 12 hour days in the summer but get three months off in the winter. This type of seasonal employment variance has been the norm through almost the entire history of civilization. Before cheap lighting, even manufacturing was a seasonal affair, with longer hours in the warm months and shorter hours in the cool dark months. We’re used to our industries operating at a constant output through the year, as that is the best way to minimize CAPEX expenditure. But with dirt cheap power for most of the year, the economics of many industries change, and seasonal production swings become profitable.
Because we’re only getting 3 hours of sun on our solar panels amirite? 😔
thatKamGuy@sh.itjust.works 4 months ago
In Victoria, there is already at least one retailer who offers a similar window to households without solar.
Australia has seen such a high uptake in solar panels, that solar rebates are basically down to like 1c/kW except for maybe the shoulders around dusk and dawn.
Makes sense to try and incentivise usage when renewables are pumping, and try to reduce some of the peak time usage which still relies on fossil-powered electricity generation.