Gavin Dufty St Vincent de Paul Society Background re-stating the - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Gavin Dufty St Vincent de Paul Society

Background – re-stating the

• bvious

Change to demand tariff is a fundamental change to the

way poles and wires are charged

There will be a community conversation Households and people affected (government, you me and

• thers will need time to talk and ask questions have to

allow for this )

While the TSS consultation process has been relatively

good given the timeframe (could have been longer) HOWEVER have to remember that the vast majority of the community have not been involved – they need time to get there head around this - this is a critical issue in the transition

Assumptions

The perspective here is on the proposed tariffs washing though in retail

price structure (big assumption - if not raises other issues)

Distribution price resets and changes in smart meter charges excluded

• But will talk about that in transition

The over all message/ signal is – low and medium consumption worse

• ff and those with higher consumption better off (regardless of

demand) and overall more than 50% total worse off and in some cases much higher

This is hard to sell – AND contrary to the common belief of what is a

GOOD and what is a BAD energy consumer - conflict between social and environmental signals and norms – might be economically rational but ..

But wait there's more - The bill to bill impact is a issue ! Load up the

summer 4 months !

So headline grab for Herald Sun – may be “Summer bill scorcher!”

Transitional issues how to manage / support change

Changes in other underlying costs ie smart meters and distribution

price path – really important need to be aligned to support transition

Jan 1 vs July 1 – start date makes a difference at the start PRE change - Shadow / ghost pricing was mentioned in focus group Opt in – VS Opt out (opt in – not as quick – opt out community

concern and price shock all at the same time)

Mandated – people not happy about that unless a lot of assurances or

nobody is worse off (see Jemina)

Other ways to mandate – move in move out, new connection, new

retailer, new contract ….

Get it right first time pushing it though risks community backlash Other transitional issues – Dual fuel vs all electric households / PV vs

non PV, non economic sites non remotely read, imbedded networks,

View from SA focus groups

2 focus groups held in SA the themes were: Big change but up for it “if its good for us all” and I can “see or

feel the benefit” will give it a go - ongoing feedback on how its working – bit like water levels in dams if take a pricing approach

• n demand how it has helped the community

However concerns are many : Anti family – more pressure on home maker – “I cant change

things when kids come home – cooking dinner cant wait” … “was this designed by a man”

Wont know till bill hits (not fair) of concern who gets blamed in

the house for household energy use !!

The ½ hour no forgiveness NOT FAIR – need and orb NEED

something strong on this

Other impacts issues raised – loose my pay on time discount –

late fees where they apply – more stress and ….

Focus groups - How to help

Clarity on WHO who will help and who is responsible

• role and responsibility of DB /RB (if its them they

need to help --- “give me an ORB” appliance management)

Need help and information before it happens –

proactive – need to know if I am going to get a high bill before and how to stop it

Consistent messaging Will need different bill design and information

Complaints – Ombudsman views

A shift to demand based tariffs will be a significant shift in

how their electricity bill is calculated and billed and will likely cause considerable confusion. A bill with – fixed charge, demand charge, kWh charge (peak off peak)

As the opportunity for innovative product and service

• fferings increases further, so too does the potential for

confusion and misunderstanding.

How the tariff is presented on the bill may also drive

complaints seen this with PV and Smart meters

Complaint volumes will be influenced by the

distributor/retailer communication and processes. As with the solar PV installation process

Complimentary measures – comfort to support change – we have your back !

Retail code NECF changes (Information, graphs, due dates

information on charges etc)

Concession adjustment (more seasonality) Utility relief

grant higher due to change in bill load

VEET and other state based federal supports interact with

it

Switch on to support households understand and be active

in the new market – possibly bill to bill information, details

• f network costs

Hardship provision and arrangements

Finally help me and others to help the reform

I work in an organisation 20,000 Victorian volunteers assist over

100,000 households – REALLY DIFFICULT to sell this – if its bad and I cant offer comfort - I will have to advocate for the group and interests I am employed to support

Different networks have different impacts and options – people

wont distinguish, as a commentator its really hard to get that detail out there continuity is important

Retail market impacts – further price dispersion – confusion –

distrust and erosion of confidence retailers need to be clear and transparent on what they are doing

And impacts for the AER will need to be clear on how they

considered and dealt with the consumer impact principle – I am being asked this now

Lets get this right first time – we get it wrong could set things

back