Welcome to the fourth issue of the BULB - your utilities literacy news. Stories in this issue include a solar battery trial for Salisbury homeowners, price hikes and smart meters, our Spotlight article on a renewables vision for Port Augusta, Jenny's client story with an unexpected outcome, and a lesson in fracking! And of course don't forget to enter our quiz "Utilities Pursuit" to win yourself a double pass to the movies!
The BULB aims to be informative and inspiring - providing a platform for ongoing support to graduates of the Utilities Literacy Training for Community Workers.
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Breaking News: Price hikes and smart meters for AGL customers
Just when we thought electricity prices had stabilized after a slight decrease last year, the big three (AGL, Origin and EnergyAustralia) have decided the party’s over.
The retailers, who between them share over 80% of the residential energy market in South Australia, have all announced increases of, or close to, 10% in the new financial year. Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis has described the power slug as a “kick in the guts” for consumers. Uniting Communities consumer advocate Mark Henley, guest speaker at our Utilities Literacy Forums in Adelaide last month, was reported in the Advertiser, saying “there is no decent justification of this increase”. See Mark’s opinion piece in InDaily A fairer energy future for SA.
In response to the AGL increase last week, the Treasurer advised South Australians to shop around … only now we have seen the other big players follow suit. Koutsantonis has since asked the Essential Services Commission of South Australia (ESCOSA) to consider the increases and determine “whether recent electricity prices rises by major retailers in South Australia are justifiable”. He says the Commission has “significant information-gathering powers” that can help determine if there is a real basis for the recent electricity price increases.
If you or clients you advise are with any of the smaller retailers, best policy might be to sit tight and see how they react to the big three’s decision. Who knows, perhaps they will resist a price hike and benefit from droves of ex-AGL or Origin customers arriving on their doorstep!
 AGL installing smart meters
Word has got around – it seems AGL is the first retailer to start offering their SA customers free smart meters. The retailer began offering smart meters as well as a smartphone app (image left) earlier this year. Interestingly, they refer to the new meter in their communications and on their website as a digital meter, though it is indeed a smart meter which will record energy consumption at set intervals (every half-hour) and have the ability to send the data remotely using smart technology.
It is important to remember that this offer is on an opt-out basis, meaning that customers are not obliged to have the new meter installed. Customers can choose not to have the meter installed and AGL should honour this decision.
While the change means obvious benefits such as permitting consumers to access their own energy consumption and production data if they have rooftop solar, a number of questions remain unanswered: What functionalities will be accessible to the consumer? What charges will apply to a customer for requesting metering data? Who owns the meter? … Tucked away on their website is a document which offers, we quote, an “easy to understand guide for interval meters” showing how the data will look once the new meter is exchanged for the old...
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Government Update: Energy Made Easy redesign
 An important service provided by the Australian Energy Regulator is the energy contract comparative website Energy Made Easy.
This site allows consumers to search all generally available electricity and gas supply offers, to find one that best suits their circumstances. In recent months, the website has undergone a significant redevelopment, so if you haven’t looked at it for a while, it’s worth seeing what’s new. The new short animated films on bills and contracts or payment difficulties could be suitable for clients with low literacy levels.
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Consumer Update: Solar storage for Salisbury consumers
About 100 electricity customers in Salisbury will be offered the opportunity to buy heavily discounted solar systems and/or household batteries under a trial by SA Power Networks.
South Australia's electricity network is keen to test whether installation of battery systems can take the place of additional expensive network infrastructure. The initiative shows SAPN exploring demand-side rather than supply-side solutions to the looming issue of network capacity.
As well as subsidised rates for the solar and battery systems, participants will be guaranteed a minimum $500 saving on their annual electricity bill. Eligible Salisbury customers will receive a letter from SAPN outlining the terms of the offer.
The solar photovoltaic (PV) systems that adorn more than a quarter of South Australian homes can become round-the-clock systems if coupled with household batteries. Some in the sector have suggested that householders should be allowed to trade in their high solar feed-in tariffs for up-front subsidies to purchase batteries, to speed the development of the household battery industry.
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 Spotlight: Renewables vision for Port Augusta
The coal-fired Northern Power Station at Port Augusta shut down on 9 May, ten days after the final 3km long coal train delivered its last load from the closed Leigh Creek Coal Mine.
With short notice, the closure had been brought forward by nearly a year from the original timeline. The lights stayed on in South Australia, with power being supplied by wind, solar, and gas, supplemented by power supplied via interconnectors from Victoria. Last year, 13% of South Australia’s electricity came from Victoria, but this is forecast to jump to almost a quarter over the next couple of years.
However, the change in the electricity generation mix has led to uncertainty in the electricity market. South Australian residential and business consumers are facing increased electricity costs, and the “big three” retailers – AGL, Origin, and Energy Australia – have pointed to the closure at Port Augusta as part of the reason for their recent price increases (see our article on this news).
South Australia is the leader nationally in renewable energy generation. In 2014-15, 38% of the state’s electricity came from renewable sources, and the current SA Government target of 50% of electricity from renewable sources by 2025 is set to be reached this year. In the longer term, the government aims to get “as close as possible to 100%” of electricity from renewable resources.
A new generation power station - solar 
Two projects proposed for the Port Augusta area may have potential to make significant contributions to this aim. US company SolarReserve is seeking support to build a 110MW facility that would use mirrors to concentrate heat from the sun, and store it in molten salt. The heat can then be used to run a steam-powered generator, similar to a coal-fired plant. SolarReserve has built a similar plant in Nevada. A competing proposal from Australia’s Solastor (image above) advocates graphite blocks as the heat storage medium. Solastor intends to build a 170MW project, big enough to power over 200,000 homes, and aims to complete a 1MW demonstration plant by the end of this year.
Both of these technologies can use stored heat from the sun to make electricity when the sun is not shining, making solar a round-the-clock generation technology. Either project would join Sundrop Farms, a solar-powered greenhouse facility, as large new renewable facilities in the region.
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Your questions: Who owns the meter box?
A question came up at a workshop recently in Christies Beach about ownership of the electricity meter box.
A participant spoke about her meter box door that bangs in the wind and won’t close properly. She wondered if it was SAPN’s responsibility to repair or replace the meter box, since they are responsible for the meter it is protecting.
The short answer is no! We have been informed by SAPN that they are responsible only for the operation and safety of the meter, and the meter box is the responsibility of the homeowner. If the box is damaged or broken, the homeowner is advised to contact a qualified electrician who can, if necessary, remove it and install a new meter box at the homeowner’s cost.
The homeowner can however undertake minor maintenance on the meter box such as oiling, greasing, cleaning, and painting.
Another solution is to secure the meter box with a utility lock and provide a copy of the key to SAPN. The Fact sheet – meter reading, which can be downloaded from this page on SAPN’s website, outlines what to do in this instance.
Thanks to Melinda Brindle at the Energy Advisory Service for additional research.
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New Resources: Home Energy Audit template
This year, we have developed two new workshops as part of our ongoing utilities literacy training. In the “Consolidation” workshop, we took a more in-depth look at appliance running costs.
In the workshop’s home energy auditing exercise, we completed a template showing consumption data and costs for a selection of common household appliances. Many participants have requested the digital file of the template we use in the workshop, so they can make copies and use with clients.
 We have now uploaded the home energy audit template onto our Utilities Literacy webpage. It includes columns for the type of appliance, its power input or usage in kW, the number of hours it is running, options for entering daily, quarterly and annual consumption and daily, quarterly and annual running costs. This information can then be added up to give a total amount for consumption and costs of all the home appliances entered in the table.
We also have a list of appliances and their running costs which accompanied this exercise. Besides giving an average figure for the power usage or inputs of home appliances, the list also includes the hourly cost using a 30c tariff. Whitegoods are presented differently because they have an  energy rating label with the average running costs already calculated per year. Note: the electric storage hot water system is a bit of an anomaly. The power usage is calculated over a 24hr period rather than per hour and we have included the annual power and cost – using the off-peak tariff! - for this item since, like the fridge, it is on 24/7.
This workshop will be offered again in September (see below). If you have any questions please send us an email.
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UL Update: Forums in Adelaide
UCWB Utilities Literacy hosted a pair of forums in the last days of May. Trainees gathered at Mawson Lakes and at Bedford Park to hear a range of speakers, and to share their experience of working to improve clients’ utilities outcomes.
Uniting Communities’ Mark Henley began with a presentation that highlighted the unprecedented change in the electricity industry, which is happening now and will be a notable feature of coming years. Mark spoke about the regulation of the energy industry, and the way the industry and its regulators are responding to the rapid change. The challenge for the community sector is to contribute to the industry’s processes in a way that shores up protections for the most vulnerable members of the community. Half of the population, he said, struggle to pay their electricity bill at some time in a year, and one in five householders always find it tough to pay.
The Energy and Water Ombudsman of SA, Sandy Canale, also spoke about the fast pace of change. Regulators, he said, are catching up, but need to anticipate the future so as to provide adequate consumer protections in a changing market place. New meters, new services and products, more “exempt” retailers, and vulnerable customers represent particular challenges for regulation. Sandy also outlined the process and guidelines for the Ombudsman’s dispute resolution service.
Loiza Kallis, Program Manager at DCSI’s Concessions and Support Services, brought the groups up-to-date with state government concessions for low-income householders. A new Cost of Living Concession has recently been made available, in addition to existing concessions for energy and for water. The new concession replaces the council rates concession, but can be claimed by renters as well as by home owners.
Nick Branson, from the government’s Energy Advisory Service, provided information about the Retailer Energy Efficiency Scheme, which provides free home energy audits to eligible households, as well as free or discounted energy efficiency retrofit products to all South Australian households and many businesses.
Success stories from community workers
After lunch, attendees heard short stories from several community workers. These highlighted some of the challenges and victories experienced by workers and their clients.
Attendees also practiced using the “Guide to electricity, gas and SA Water services”, and were then invited to give feedback to Wayne Barbour from DSD’s Community Energy Services. Encouragingly, the feedback was constructive, and overwhelmingly positive – the Guide appears to be a very good resource for community workers.
The organisers were pleased to hear many attendees speak highly of these events!
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Nick Branson, Manager, Energy Advisory Service at the Utilities Literacy Forum, Adelaide.
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Wayne Barbour (standing), Manager, Community Energy Services at the Utilities Literacy Forum, Adelaide.
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UL Update: Upcoming events
Training in Bowden
The 2-day Utilities Literacy Training for Community Workers will be offered at the Lounge on Gibson at UCWB, 77 Gibson St Bowden, on 28 July and 4 August.
Two morning follow-up workshops will also be available at the Lounge in September:
Utilities Literacy – Consolidation on Tuesday 6 September
Utilities Literacy – Innovations on Tuesday 13 September
To register for any of these events, send an email to utilitiesliteracy@ucwb.org.au.
Energy & Water Information Sessions for clients:
Ceduna (regional)
Tuesday 2 August
10.30am - 12.30pm at Memorial Hall - 31 Poynton Street, Ceduna.
To register click here or for more details contact Melissa at UCWCSA: 7628 3122
Christies Beach (southern metro):
Wednesday 13 July
10.30am – 12.30pm at Uniting Communities, 3/107 Dyson Road, Christies Beach.
For more details contact Pam: 8202 5010.
Community organisations can also schedule UL information sessions for their client groups. To arrange a session, contact Uniting Communities at Smithfield (8202 5980) for northern Adelaide and Christies Beach (8202 5010) for southern Adelaide.
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Your success stories: An unexpected result
Jenny Paterson is an independent home energy auditor who undertakes assessments for low-income households through the Retailer Energy Efficiency Scheme or REES. Jenny recently spoke at our '5x5' session at the Utilities Literacy Forums in Adelaide. At this  session, we invited community workers to tell us a story about how the skills they have gained in utilities literacy have helped a client. This is Jenny’s story about a client Jason...
Jason is nearing retirement age, he’s on medication that knocks him about and lives alone in a Housing Trust house. His life is quite routine.
In a chat before I went to his house, it was clear that he had an interest in technology, saving money and being energy conscious, so there was no problem in getting him to accept the energy-saving products or the Home Energy Assessment.
When I came for the Assessment, I saw he had a lot of incandescent light bulbs, an elaborate music and TV system in the lounge, and in his bedroom a computer and second TV. He would often fall asleep while watching the bedroom TV, he said.
Jason enthusiastically agreed to change all his light bulbs, and took three standby power controllers, one for the lounge and two for his bedroom. He also took a water efficient shower head.
An unanticipated learning came about when we looked at his electricity bills. Jason proudly told me that he was managing his bills by paying them off in installments. What emerged however was that the payments continued past the due date. He was missing out on a pay-on-time discount every time! I pointed out that if he could get things to the point of paying off his utilities bills before the due date, then he would save about $100 a quarter (on top of his savings on energy consumption from the new light bulbs, etc). He would then have enough money to attend the upcoming rock concert he wanted to attend, but had complained he could not afford.
About three months later he got in touch, reeling – he was in shock about how low his electricity bill was and thought there must be something wrong!
You can read more on the Retailer Energy Efficiency Scheme (REES) in our recent article in the BULB.
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We would like to celebrate and promote what you have done to assist members of the community to reduce hardship associated with electricity, gas and water utilities.
If you can share examples of ways you have helped, either with an individual client or group, we would love to know. Your story might inspire or encourage other community workers.
Whether it is a couple of lines or a couple of paragraphs, whatever it takes to tell us what you did, and what difference it has made, we are keen to hear from you. Who knows, maybe your story will be published in the next edition of the BULB!
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 “Utilities Pursuit”
Your UL Quiz!
Our lucky winners this time include two previous winners, Rachel and Janette! Well done everyone who participated. Now for the drum roll, the top three were:
- Janette Stringer, NILS Officer with ac.care, Millicent
- Tia Walker, Financial Counsellor with Relationships Australia
- Rachel Hull, Volunteer at Aldinga Community Centre
The correct answers:
C – 30 September 2016
B – 0.1 kWh
A – Tenants cannot be SA Water customers for the house they are renting
Three multiple choice questions to test your UL knowledge. The first three responses with all correct answers receive a double pass to the movies. We hope to see more new ‘faces’ this time. Our tip? Answers to questions 1 and 2 can be found in this edition of the BULB - Ready, Steady, Go!
1. Who owns the electricity meter box?
A. SA Power Networks
B. The retailer
C. The homeowner
2. In 2014/15 how much energy generation in SA was sourced from renewables?
A. 38%
B. 10%
C. 52%
3. This one is especially for those who did our recent workshop on running costs! You have a brand new energy efficient 102cm LCD/LED television with a power input of 95 W. The television is running 5 hours a day for 90 days and you have a tariff of 32 cents. How much will this cost?
A. $136.80
B. $45.32
C. $13.68
Done! Send us the answers with your name and a postal address for your chance to win a double cinema pass.
The fine print: Any subscriber to the BULB can send us a response to the Quiz, however eligibility for the prize is restricted to graduates of utilities literacy training.
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The UL JukeBox
A lesson in fracking
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking as it is better known, is a drilling method used to improve the flow of gas from formations that are difficult to access due to depth and rock composition. Fracking is used in drilling shale gas deposits which are much deeper and harder to reach than coal seam gas. The Cooper Basin is one such site in South Australia.
Now, in the US, where fracking has come under fire because chemicals, used in the fracking fluid which is pumped at very high pressures into the ground, have leached into aquifers used to supply drinking water, effectively poisoning wells and making tap water … combustible!
Hence the title of our song for this issue: the Fracking Song (My Water’s On Fire Tonight), a track put together by a couple of New York University journalism students in collaboration with a not-for-profit investigative news program. If you like a bit of pop culture, clever rap lyrics and slick graphics, take a listen, it is good!
Adios
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The Utilities Literacy Program supports people to reduce financial hardship associated with electricity, gas and water utilities.
4 ways to manage your energy and water bills
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