I just sold some Origin shares to go towards cost of campervan. So guess we do...well some of them. If you had super and turned it into a pension you probably own some too.
One of the reasons the energy companies opted for the solar grid option was to stop the people going off grid and running full solar.
We have some members of our group that are now using solar to power their houses and business through batteries and not sending to the grid. This would be the power companies worst nightmare if it had caught on before they got every one to connect to the grid. Once you are on it will be hard to get off.
One friend has had many inquiries from the power company as he uses very little power and when they found out he had an extensive solar array on his roof wanted to know why he was not registered with them and have a smart meter and sharing it on the grid. He told them if they wanted to instal a smart meter they could remove the wires as he uses the grid just as a backup and to run his stove until he converts to gas.
Many people have to have solar as it cost too much to connect to the grid in the country and that will increase as people move away from suburbia.
There is not much in Australia that is Australian owned any more as both parties are too intent on selling the country from under our feet.
Regards
Brian
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11 Mtr house Boat based at Mannum hoping to travel up the Murray as far as I can get then drift back again
I think I was told Energy Australia is owned by China. That's who we are with now (for 3 yrs) because my hubby heard the word discount and said 'yes' without knowing what for!!
Here in Victoria, there is a company called SPAusnet which appears to be a Singaporean owned company. I'm not sure how far Australia wide they go. SPAusnet became known to me about 10 years ago but I might have been a bit slow on the uptake. This particular company controls the power-lines throughout Metro and Regional Victoria but are under some form of lend/lease type contract with S.E.C.V. (The old State Electricity Commission). Listening to Federal Parliament's 'Question Time" (or Comedy Hour as some people like to call it), SPAusnet is being blamed for much of the electricity price increases for 'gold plating' of power lines (i.e. over sizing of lines etc). SPAusnet claims that this is to prepare the grid for unexpected or heavier than usual demands on the lines caused by consumers suddenly increasing their power usage during hot spells and the like. SPAusnet also have the authority (at least in Vic) to make a home owner trim around the domestic feed for a minimum of one metre clearance. Should the owner fail to comply with a notice to trim, SPAusnet can (through a contractor) trim it up and send you the bill. How much of our system is owned by SPAusnet or merely outsourced to them, I can't seem to find a definitive answer. However, this O/S company certainly has a big finger in the pie. This may be due to no Aussie company wanting to take the job on or perhaps being unable to compete; I don't know which. I do know that they employ a lot of ex Vic SEC linesmen. The SEC Linesman's School at Doncaster (and possibly others) was closed down and the void had to be filled. The SEC in the Latrobe Valley (Vic's biggest power generators) no longer employ the numbers that they did in the recent past. Outsourcing is one of those things that have pros and cons and sometimes we lose considerable control as a result.
