Hey, all!
Was going to post this on Syn's "Say No to Power Meters...." thread, but saw that while it was similar it was a bit off topic, so have started another thread to gauge reactions / uncover knowledge about the way Access Fees are charged.
My retailer, Country Energy in NSW, charges $0.8266 per day for Peak/Residential tariff (Residential Tariff 5700) and $0.07 per day for Off Peak (Controlled Load 1 Tariff 5701) for 'Service Availability' fees.
Over a normal 90 day quarterly account, this amounts to $74.39 + $6.30 = $80.69.
Given that I only use 6.4-6.6kW/day, the total usage charges on my last bill came to $122.19.
Usage charges + Access fees = $202.88
In other words, the Access fees form almost 40% of the total bill!!
As profligate energy users pay exactly the same access fees for the same period as we thrifty users, aren't we effectively subsidising the cost of all this new infrastructure that, really, the profligate users shoud be paying for, as it it they who require it?
Is this something that ATA has on its "argue with government" platform, or is it something we 'interested members of the community' should be doing a little jig of our own about?
Question: What proportion of the bill do you pay? [Be accurate and don't factor in GST, only usage charges and access fees]
Question: How do people feel about these ever-increasing "access fees" and is there, really, anything we can do about it?
BTW, and for the record, I have three meters (two peak, one OP) and am being charged 3 separate access fees. My total access fee last bill was actually $155.08 - or 76% of the total bill!!! Needless to say I am in the process of disputing this with CA and arguing for a refund.
Please add your comments, answers and thoughts.