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Cost Reflective Tariffs encourage people to move their electricity consumption from peak times to off-peak periods by adjusting the price charged at certain times each day.
This helps reduce the overall peak load and is referred to as load shifting, a common practice in many other places in Australia. Cost reflective tariffs better represent the cost to generate and provide power to customers during peak and off-peak periods.
As part of the Alice Solar City project a cost reflective trial is being conducted. This trial will conclude 31 May 2013 and residents can claim the No Worse off Safety Net until 14 June 2013.
Alice Solar City has seen 370 residents sign up to this trail (and a further 277 joined the trial as part of installing a BP Solar PV system). Alice Solar City hs been monitoring the consumption patterns of the participants producing results that will inform future energy policy.
As part of the package, those residents taking part in the trial have had their power meter replaced with a Smart Meter.
As soon as the Smart Meter was installed, the residents moved from the flat rate electricity tariff (currently 25.83 cents/kWh all day everyday) to the split tariffs (see rates below).
The existing Power and Water electricity meter will remain in place and continue to be remotely read. This arrangement will be reviewed by Power and Water in 12 months time.
If you have a smart meter and want to know more about how to read the display, take a look at this easy to use guide.
As part of the trial, householders also received an interactive in-home display (IHD). This small, portable LCD display communicates with the Smart Meter and using the touch-screen householders are able to see a graph of current energy consumption, CO2 emissions and historical consumption data.
You can download a copy of the In-House display manual here. You can download the instructions for changing the tariffs on your IHD here.
There was no upfront charge for the in-house display, however it remains the property of the Power and Water Corporation, however, residents have been given the option of retaining the display after the end of the trial.
The IHD is not available to be rolled out to any other homes. If you are interested in options to get a display for your home, visit our appliances page for some third party options that are available.
The residential Cost Reflective Tariffs in Alice Springs from January 1st, 2013 until 31 May 2013 are:
When the trial ends on 31 May 2013 the standard flat tariff of 25.83 cents /kWh will apply. Residents with a In House Display will need to change the tariffs in the IHD on 1 June 2013 to 25.83 cents
For the electricity cost information in your IHD to be accurate, you will need to update the tariffs whenever Power and Water raise their prices. For information on how to update your IHD, click here.
Depending on the time of electricity consumption, participants in the CRT trial may end up being charged more for their electricity consumption than they would have on the standard domestic tariff. To address this risk, the Cost Reflective Tariff trial includes a No Worse off Safety Net, whereby participants can claim a credit if they have paid more than the would otherwise have.
Alice Solar City has developed an on-line calculator to help residents assess if they are worse off - Click here for assistance in calculating your "No Worse off Safety Net" or here to go directly to the calculator.
You will need the information on the back of your power bill to work out if you can claim the “No Worse off Safety Net”. - Refer to the “How to Read My Power Bill” Fact sheet to locate the information required.
If your billing period covers the transition from one financial year to the next you will need to repeat this procedure for each billing period (i.e. the period before, and after the tariff rate changed).
If you have any difficulty with these instructions or the on-line calculator, feel free to contact the Smart Living Centre - we will be happy to do the calculations for you.
Send or drop your bills (both sides) into the Smart Living Centre and one of our staff will calculate if you are entitled to a rebate and organise for a credit in your name to be sent to Power and Water. This credit will appear on a subsequent power bill as a payment received. You will need to do this by 14 June 2013.
By taking advantage of cheaper off peak power available under CRT you can reduce the cost of your energy bill.
