I heard recently that power was restricted in Queensland to some customers by a "method" used by an energy supply company to customers who had a "special metre" installed in their homes that would save on energy costs.
The article indicated that customers were given a "bonus" of (I think) about $400 as an incentive to have installed. But apparently it also enabled the energy supplier to cut power to air conditioning to some customers, which occurred on a very hot day recently.
Surely this is not true. Could someone (preferably from Queensland) confirm, elaborate as to whether this is correct please.
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D.R.E.D. is what you are referring to ... Demand Response Enabling Device.
When demand for power is high, the energy company can remotely reduce the power of your air conditioner by sending ripple signals through the power lines. I spent a few minutes looking for links to the following but did not find anything official. So if anyone has official links with alternate info please post.
What I believe .....
All fixed air conditioners sold in Queensland must be DRED capable (not portables or those plugging into power points). While they must be DRED capable the feature usually requires an add-on board, and this is not mandated. When the board is fitted you can contact the energy supplier to sign up to the scheme.
All states are heading in the same direction but I believe QLD is leading the way.
All the more reason to get batteries and go off the grid, except, they will probably charge you for the power going past your home, like councils do in our area for water.
I understand that with some smart metering contracts, the user may also be hit with a high tariff for a large proportion of the bill, if the user exceeds some predetermined usage peak usage level, even for a short time.
As regards to charging for a service past and/or connected to a property even though not used, the justification is that the particular infrastructure does have a cost to maintain and operate even for if a particular property may not wish to use the service. As for if any particular cost for service is correct, I think authorities the ACCC and governments have input into checking for any price gouging.
Some people view the service as an asset which may add value to the property.
The justification is that usually reticulated power and water systems aid in the betterment of a civilisation and many communities want these things. I am not sure if the same can be said about stores that sell Maccas.
-- Edited by watsea on Saturday 4th of January 2025 10:34:42 AM
Yep. You can't say much. Truths often get whole threads cancelled.
A mate mentioned recently there was talk of taxing non EV vehicles in Australia?
I have been waiting for that one, only a matter of time before they hammer us with that one.
All these latte drinking city-centric types driving all this are grossly annoying.
