1) SA has the lowest or equal lowest Wholesale price, 2/3 that of Qld and has been for a number of years

And yet South Australia has the highest retail prices in the country again this year according to Canstar Blue.

How is it possible that we have cheap 'renewable' energy yet the most expensive retail prices in the country? Is it because renewables are actually EXPENSIVE to install and only run very occasionally?

Global peak in gas and coal prices have driven up the cost of generation exposed to global markets

Again, renewables are 30% of our energy (plated) capacity in this country (if they're running full tilt, which they almost never do) - so why haven't prices come down if they're so much cheaper? I've asked you this question repeatedly and you can't explain.

If you can't explain then don't bother to obfuscate and pretend you know the answer - because you don't.

...because of YOUR MATE and the response ie sactions towards what YOUR MATE did until he stops.

You don't have a shred of evidence that Putin's invasion of Ukraine has anything whatsoever to do with the electricity price in Australia. It's just as feeble as Biden blaming Putin for high petrol prices while his government was refusing to release domestic drilling leases.

It's just plain wrong and you're trying to blame something that has nothing whatsoever to do with the failure of renewables to deliver.

OFFS Time and Time and Time again Don, its getting so boring. LCOE data is VERY CLEAR

If you can't explain how much renewables in Australia will cost at 50% or 100% of our base load then just say "I can't explain". Don't cite stuff that doesn't give me an answer - I want to know what the cost is, not some theoretical scientific study that says it SHOULD be cheaper than coal or gas. I want to know what the cost is to this country.

If you can't answer then just say "I can't answer".

Which countries sell coal fired power station technology today?

General Electric were developing a high-efficiency low-emission coal fired power plant until recently.

You're ignorant of that too - what a surprise.

I've ripped you to bits yet again and I'm not a self-proclaimed expert like you are, I'm just an ordinary Joe. And you still haven't answered the fundamental question that I keep posing over and over again - which is why are our electricity bills going up in the state with the highest penetration of renewables?

You can't answer because it's a lie.

China RE contribution to grid - 28% and rising faster than Australia (12% of which is hydro)

China's RE invest over next 5 years, count them out Don USD $ 895 Billion!
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/5/19/chinas-climate-goal-overhauling-its-electricity-grid

China's growth area of RE, Wind.
2021, 3 x the total Australian electricty production came from just wind in China.

Please stop repeating lies. Anything that China says its doing is a lie just to make us feel better about buying turbines and solar panels off them.

They're saying one thing and doing the opposite.

Now we wait for the predictable answer - "I say it's true so you have to prove me wrong."

I'd like for him just once for him to prove himself right rather than making generalisations and/or posting politically motivated crap.

You can also tell when the "pro coal above all else" people like him are crasping at straws, the try pull the Env card and complain about pollution from Non-coal and non-gas generational sources.


- SA this month 21 GWh of diesel intermitant generation and is filtered to prevent particulate and some chemical emissions such as NOX and SOX

- Vic this month 2500 GWh of brown coal 24/7/365 generation, which filtered for particulate ONLY!

But oh the humanity in Sth Australia  

Please stop repeating lies. Anything that China says its doing is a lie just to make us feel better about buying turbines and solar panels off them.

They're saying one thing and doing the opposite.

PROVE IT !!!!

1) SA has the lowest or equal lowest Wholesale price, 2/3 that of Qld and has been for a number of years

And yet South Australia has the highest retail prices in the country again this year according to Canstar Blue.

How is it possible that we have cheap 'renewable' energy yet the most expensive retail prices in the country? Is it because renewables are actually EXPENSIVE to install and only run very occasionally?

Global peak in gas and coal prices have driven up the cost of generation exposed to global markets

Again, renewables are 30% of our energy (plated) capacity in this country (if they're running full tilt, which they almost never do) - so why haven't prices come down if they're so much cheaper? I've asked you this question repeatedly and you can't explain.

If you can't explain then don't bother to obfuscate and pretend you know the answer - because you don't.

...because of YOUR MATE and the response ie sactions towards what YOUR MATE did until he stops.

You don't have a shred of evidence that Putin's invasion of Ukraine has anything whatsoever to do with the electricity price in Australia. It's just as feeble as Biden blaming Putin for high petrol prices while his government was refusing to release domestic drilling leases.

It's just plain wrong and you're trying to blame something that has nothing whatsoever to do with the failure of renewables to deliver.

OFFS Time and Time and Time again Don, its getting so boring. LCOE data is VERY CLEAR

If you can't explain how much renewables in Australia will cost at 50% or 100% of our base load then just say "I can't explain". Don't cite stuff that doesn't give me an answer - I want to know what the cost is, not some theoretical scientific study that says it SHOULD be cheaper than coal or gas. I want to know what the cost is to this country.

If you can't answer then just say "I can't answer".

Which countries sell coal fired power station technology today?

General Electric were developing a high-efficiency low-emission coal fired power plant until recently.

You're ignorant of that too - what a surprise.

I've ripped you to bits yet again and I'm not a self-proclaimed expert like you are, I'm just an ordinary Joe. And you still haven't answered the fundamental question that I keep posing over and over again - which is why are our electricity bills going up in the state with the highest penetration of renewables?

You can't answer because it's a lie.

Oh god Don, really.

CANNOT YOU READ, WHY DO WE NEED TO DO THIS AGAIN ???

SA has had the highest power prices for decades.

Any other day of the week SA cannot even fund its own railway electrification, who knows Don. You also traditionally have the highest petrol prices.

RE (excluding hydro) contributed around 23% to the total supply for 2021, 25% for 2022 YTD. This is published Fact Don.

Wind price for 2021 in NEM was half that of black coal and 80% of brown coal. Whats your point?

Yes we do Don.
Middle east came out today stating they have very little oil pumping capacity left trying to fill the void of Russia.
Gas supplies are limited because EU is buying every shipment of gas they get get their hands on to reduce or eliminate gas from Russia.

Your in ability to read a simple table is not my problem Don, its you English Teachers. The cost price was in the link and comparison pricing for LCOE 2020 is readily available.

GE annouced two years ago its exit from building coal power stations as its no longer a profitable business, everyone knew this, why didn't you until now?
https://www.ge.com/news/press-releases/ge-pursue-exit-new-build-coal-power-market
The efficency of those later power station is still almost half that of CCGT 61 -> 65%, and only marginally better than OCGT 44%. But unlike gas and coal plants of old, these coal power stations are extremely limited in flexibility/turndown of operation and would require a large network of HV lines and peaking gas generation and/hydro/pumped hydro/battery storage. Which was started in Oz for the same reasons prior to the first wind farms.

One more time Don, even without RE, coal was being phased out, just look at where Australia and USA was heading before the first wind and solar farms were even conceived.

YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE COST TO THE COUNTRY IS. You want to make up your own numbers and never need to prove it as "YOU CANNOT HANDLE THE TRUTH"


Don, when it comes to talking energy generation and distrubtion, you make my 12 year old look like an expert. I work in the most electrical energy indtensive industry in the world. On our two sites we have nearly 6GW of gas generation equipment and generate more power than Tas, SA and WA combined, we have a exit strategy to Net 0, RTA and other aluminium companies have also annouced a net 0 in all its operations, but hell what do I know?

Again Don, you have ruined yet another thread.

Oh god Don, really.

CANNOT YOU READ, WHY DO WE NEED TO DO THIS AGAIN ???

SA has had the highest power prices for decades.

Any other day of the week SA cannot even fund its own railway electrification, who knows Don. You also traditionally have the highest petrol prices.

RE (excluding hydro) contributed around 23% to the total supply for 2021, 25% for 2022 YTD. This is published Fact Don.

Wind price for 2021 in NEM was half that of black coal and 80% of brown coal. Whats your point?

You can squirm away as much as you like but the fact is that South Australia's dependence on windmills to generate electricity is the cause of our having the highest retail prices for electricity in the country.

Why? Because despite the fact that heavily subsidised windmill power might be cheap, it is extremely intermittent and often doesn't work - and we have to pay through the nose to keep gas and diesel on stand-by for when wind chooses not to show up for work. And then pay exorbitant rates yet again when the gas and diesel needs to be switched on.

So in other words it's the really cheap energy source that directly leads to you paying much, much more for your power.

Great, isn't it - and completely illogical just like everything to do with wind turbines.

One more time Don, even without RE, coal was being phased out...

YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE COST TO THE COUNTRY IS. You want to make up your own numbers and never need to prove it as "YOU CANNOT HANDLE THE TRUTH"

Of course I want to know what the cost is - why do you think I keep asking the question? And of course I can "handle the truth", as a nation we have a right to know what the total cost is going to be before we embark on this project. I mean, it turned out the estimates for NBN ended up being nowhere near as accurate as Kevin Rudd initially said they were - but we at least need to have some kind of a vague estimate for where we might end up otherwise it could actually bankrupt us as a nation if it's six or seven trillion dollars.

Right?

And it shouldn't be that hard to work out - we just need something like seven to nine times more money spent on windmills, panels and new transmission lines than we've spent in the last 20 years, that's what the head of the Energy Security Council says. So all we need to do is find out what the total amount of money spent on these things in the last twenty years is and multiply that figure by (perhaps) eight and there you have the amount of money required to get to Net Zero 2050.

Easy.

China says it's going to renewables but they're doing the exact opposite - New Scientist;

China was responsible for more than half of the new coal power station capacity being built around the world last year, showing how much the country is propping up one of the worst drivers of climate change.

Nearly 200 countries pledged a “phasing down” of coal at the COP26 climate summit last year. But figures from a report by the non-profit Global Energy Monitor show that is nowhere near being realised yet. Globally, the number of coal power stations is actually growing as new constructions more than offset the closure of old plants.

Construction of new coal-fired stations is occurring overwhelmingly in Asia, with China accounting for 52 per cent of the 176 gigawatts of coal capacity under construction in 20 countries last year. The global figure is barely changed from the 181 GW that was under construction in 2020, despite authoritative analyses showing that no more new coal projects can be built if climate goals are to be met.

“It’s a mixed story. Everywhere outside of China, plans for new coal-fired power plants have been scaled back dramatically,” says one of the report’s authors, Lauri Myllyvirta at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. “However, Chinese firms have continued to announce new coal-fired power stations and there is very clear government backing for that. That’s a worrying sign.”

They're lying when they say they're committed to renewbles, simple as that.

The CCP are pathological liars. What's new?

Meanwhile:

One more time Don, even without RE, coal was being phased out...

YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE COST TO THE COUNTRY IS. You want to make up your own numbers and never need to prove it as "YOU CANNOT HANDLE THE TRUTH"

Of course I want to know what the cost is - why do you think I keep asking the question? And of course I can "handle the truth", as a nation we have a right to know what the total cost is going to be before we embark on this project. I mean, it turned out the estimates for NBN ended up being nowhere near as accurate as Kevin Rudd initially said they were - but we at least need to have some kind of a vague estimate for where we might end up otherwise it could actually bankrupt us as a nation if it's six or seven trillion dollars.

Right?

And it shouldn't be that hard to work out - we just need something like seven to nine times more money spent on windmills, panels and new transmission lines than we've spent in the last 20 years, that's what the head of the Energy Security Council says. So all we need to do is find out what the total amount of money spent on these things in the last twenty years is and multiply that figure by (perhaps) eight and there you have the amount of money required to get to Net Zero 2050.

Easy.

Back to my previous comment. Are you an idiot or just trying to be one?

I have previously torn apart this clearly outdated with actual refences and poorly written what ever it is only appeasing to idiots who believe anything that suits their narative.

Don, HELLO, HELLO DOn. We are talking power generation, not NBN.

HELLO DON, HELLO, how much was the value I previously posted to replace the coal power stations and that was purely like for like ignoring the fact that the newer technology needs more flexible HV network to make up for their less flexibility + Gas fleet to support peaking power. So Don, what is the gap and which direction is the gap between replacing the existing thermal network with the next generation of coal and gas capacity with upgraded HV network and going RE? Noting again where are you going to buy your coal power stations from?

HELLO DON HELLO, You live in the state with the worst trough to peak variance, pushing over 3 x, you of all people should know that a base load coal power station still needs a peaking capacity which is why SA was never going to replace Northern RE or not. Why are we telling you about your own state Don, you should be telling us. Oh thats right.

I mean seriously Don, will you ever actually post anything on this topic that is both fact and up to date?

The CCP are pathological liars. What's new?

Meanwhile:

You say and post that and ironically the CCP are leading the nuclear role out.

You cannot hide power stations from satilite cameras and just driving around the country side, its easy to review and yes I've seen a bit of it myself in 2018. We also can see what commitment China has to CO2 reduction from changes in their aluminium production which was reduced 18mths ago due to strict CO2 emissions targets. Unlike the politically motivated hype Don posts, industry does actually do a bit more research and verification. Right now, no one in the alumnium sector is predicting China to increase its aluminium production due to statements and followup actions by the Chinese operators and commitments to reduce emissions. Unlike Australa, the Chinese ENv authority doesn't trust its industry and installs its own emissions monitoring equipment on plant emission points including CCTV.

China says it's going to renewables but they're doing the exact opposite - New Scientist;

China was responsible for more than half of the new coal power station capacity being built around the world last year, showing how much the country is propping up one of the worst drivers of climate change.

Nearly 200 countries pledged a “phasing down” of coal at the COP26 climate summit last year. But figures from a report by the non-profit Global Energy Monitor show that is nowhere near being realised yet. Globally, the number of coal power stations is actually growing as new constructions more than offset the closure of old plants.

Construction of new coal-fired stations is occurring overwhelmingly in Asia, with China accounting for 52 per cent of the 176 gigawatts of coal capacity under construction in 20 countries last year. The global figure is barely changed from the 181 GW that was under construction in 2020, despite authoritative analyses showing that no more new coal projects can be built if climate goals are to be met.

“It’s a mixed story. Everywhere outside of China, plans for new coal-fired power plants have been scaled back dramatically,” says one of the report’s authors, Lauri Myllyvirta at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. “However, Chinese firms have continued to announce new coal-fired power stations and there is very clear government backing for that. That’s a worrying sign.”

They're lying when they say they're committed to renewbles, simple as that.

HELLO DON HELLO

How many times does it need to be stated with the link to actual references that China is building coal power stations THAT ARE NOT BEING USED. They have enoguh coal capacity to run China and all of Russia. Meanwhile they are expanding both RE and NUCLEAR. Do you think you can hide a nuclear power station Don, or even pretend one was built that wasn't?

Many of the new plants actually being built are also replacing aging or relocation from within cities. Go to city like Dallian when you can see a coal power station closed only a few years ago in basically the main street of the city. Due to the population having enough of the embaressing air pollution issue, China started an agressive policy of relocation coal power stations away from populated areas and regions as well as closing plants with unacceptable emissions.

https://balkangreenenergynews.com/iea-global-coal-power-output-to-rise-9-in-2021-to-all-time-high/#:~:text=The%20declines%20in%20global%20coal%2Dfired%20power%20generation%20in%202019,%2Dtime%20high%2C%20IEA%20estimates.

Coal electrical generations is 5% below its 2007 peak at 36%. ie coals contribution is in decline % wise.

@RTT_Rules

I haven’t been closely following this debate, other than as a slug-fest. In other words, I had no real opinion who’s right and who’s wrong.

But the claim that China is building coal fired power stations that they they are not going to use caught my eye. I don’t know why, but I thought that maybe, just maybe, that isn’t true?

Then I clicked on your link. From a very quick and superficial read, it seemed to be saying the exact opposite of your contentions.

Have I missed something?

Back to my previous comment. Are you an idiot or just trying to be one?

I have previously torn apart this clearly outdated with actual refences and poorly written what ever it is only appeasing to idiots who believe anything that suits their narative.

Don, HELLO, HELLO DOn. We are talking power generation, not NBN.

They're both huge projects screaming out for many billions in public capital. What's the difference?

HELLO DON, HELLO, how much was the value I previously posted to replace the coal power stations and that was purely like for like ignoring the fact that the newer technology needs more flexible HV network to make up for their less flexibility + Gas fleet to support peaking power. So Don, what is the gap and which direction is the gap between replacing the existing thermal network with the next generation of coal and gas capacity with upgraded HV network and going RE? Noting again where are you going to buy your coal power stations from?

General Electric - I told you before but you ignored me. And if that fails I'm pretty sure we can buy some from China, they're pumping them out like nobody's business.

HELLO DON HELLO, You live in the state with the worst trough to peak variance, pushing over 3 x, you of all people should know that a base load coal power station still needs a peaking capacity which is why SA was never going to replace Northern RE or not. Why are we telling you about your own state Don, you should be telling us. Oh thats right.

This is yet another juncture in which you refuse to acknowledge that it is wind energy that is actually causing the problem to begin with. If we had coal plus gas peaking plants there wouldn't be a problem.

We have the worst peak-to-trough variance BECAUSE of wind energy. We have the highest power prices in the country BECAUSE of wind energy and its chronically unreliable nature. These issues you simply refuse to knowledge because it won't fit into your rubbish fantasy story of breezes and sunshine being able to power our nation.

Will you finally acknowledge that wind is of itself the problem? Or are you just going to keep carrying on like the rude brat that you are.

HELLO DON HELLO How many times does it need to be stated with the link to actual references that China is building coal power stations THAT ARE NOT BEING USED. They have enoguh coal capacity to run China and all of Russia. Meanwhile they are expanding both RE and NUCLEAR. Do you think you can hide a nuclear power station Don, or even pretend one was built that wasn't? Many of the new plants actually being built are also replacing aging or relocation from within cities. Go to city like Dallian when you can see a coal power station closed only a few years ago in basically the main street of the city. Due to the population having enough of the embaressing air pollution issue, China started an agressive policy of relocation coal power stations away from populated areas and regions as well as closing plants with unacceptable emissions.

As Sonofagunzel says, your link actually says the opposite, they're building and operating more coal fired plants than ever.

It's the middle of the day when solar and wind should be powering the NEM without a problem - yet what happens?

Every state is above $500 MWh with the exception of Tasmania - the price is a long way above where it should be and consumers are going to end up paying through the nose for it. Where are these imaginary dividends we're supposed to be getting from renewable energy?

They don't exist is the answer.

It's the middle of the day when solar and wind should be powering the NEM without a problem - yet what happens?

Every state is above $500 MWh with the exception of Tasmania - the price is a long way above where it should be and consumers are going to end up paying through the nose for it. Where are these imaginary dividends we're supposed to be getting from renewable energy?

They don't exist is the answer.

The only people getting dividends from renewable energy are Turnbull, Holmes a Court et al.

It's the middle of the day when solar and wind should be powering the NEM without a problem - yet what happens?

Every state is above $500 MWh with the exception of Tasmania - the price is a long way above where it should be and consumers are going to end up paying through the nose for it. Where are these imaginary dividends we're supposed to be getting from renewable energy?

They don't exist is the answer.

The only people getting dividends from renewable energy are Turnbull, Holmes a Court et al.

The problem with that is?

AMEO demands $12 billion of grid user money to build more transmission lines that won't generate a single MWh of electricity - JoNova;

The AEMO has declared we need to rush to cough up $12.7 billion to build new interconnectors in Australia. That’s $500 from every man woman and child and let’s call it what it is, a Gift Card for the renewables industry. The net benefit of all that money will be to allow wind and solar industrial plants to connect their unreliable product to the grid we already have, and to the storage products that we still have to pay for, and all so that their green electrons will make the weather 0.0 degrees cooler in a hundred years. Australians alive today will pay now and basically get nothing but views of more criss-crossy-steel-wires and spires, and more wind towers too. Sing Hallelujah.

The 104 page Blueprint imagines all kinds of scenarios except for an actual free market, true competition, consumer choice, or whether it makes any sense to use our national grid as a global climatic weather controller. It’s a fantasy document which includes four flavours of future electrical icecream: “Slow”, “Progressive”, “Step” or “Hydrogen Superpower”. Will that be a double-scoop with Spiderman topping? Yes indeedy — and with $28 billion dollars of imaginary savings to go. The word blackout appears no times. Nor is there a scenario for a “Cost effective” electrical grid. (Remember them?).

Here's a list of the projects that the AMEO want delivered as soon as possible - but remember this is just the start. They actually need to have another $80 billion or so more spent on transmission lines nationally to ensure 'grid stability':



Jo Nova again:

To put it in perspective a very annoyed high honcho at Snowy Hydro was not happy with the draft version of this document a few months ago and complained that the AEMO wasn’t pushing hard enough for faster “investment” in the VNI line which, ahem, just happens to be nearer to the Snowy Scheme, and which they wanted a lot more than the link to their competitors in Tasmania.  In that complaint he quietly gave away that these transmission lines are essential in a life and death kind of way for renewables.

[Snowy Hydro] has previously warned the lack of transmission could kill the transition to ­renewables – with a string of major players weighing into the debate – and singled out concerns over infrastructure as a major issue that needs to be confronted to ensure supplies can flow to users.

Renewable developers and network operators are worried a pipeline of power generation and clean energy supplies faces delays or gridlock unless major electricity transmission projects are delivered across the national power system.

Yet again, Aussie power users are going to be forced to put tens of billions into bolstering the profitability of the renewables industry - and those people who have invested in them get free money from us. The news that the transmission network is going to have tens of billions spent on it comes on top of the recent price rises announced by Australia's biggest electricity retailer AGL - near 20% rises in the cost of electricity for NSW and QLD power consumers.

It's worth remembering that for the cost of this project we could have three or four advanced new coal-fired power plants with a domestic coal reservation and fix electricity supply (and the price problem) in this country for decades to come - but there's no way that will be considered. Instead we have to spend billions on projects that won't provide a single extra watt to the grid so that the owners of wind-farms can make even more money.

The only people getting dividends from renewable energy are Turnbull, Holmes a Court et al.

The problem with that is?

“Ah, Mr Hub!  Welcome the RWNJ Club. I see you’re new here. Now you’ll find the populists to your left, the realists are straight ahead down the hall, in the main auditorium.  But I see from your application form here that you don’t care about society as long as the rich are making profits. You’ll find your lot downstairs and to the right, past the libertarians and across the hall from the gun nuts. If you get to the door marked ‘Nazi’s and Fascists - No Blacks or Asians’ you’ve gone too far. If you go though that door you’ll find yourself outside and the door locks behind you. Enjoy your stay!”

Germany's wholesale power prices are projected to be six times what they were in 2020 by the end of this year. Six times!



Is this what we have to look forward to in our green energy future nirvana? No wonder Germany had to quietly turn their coal-fired power plants back on - their reliance on green energy and Russian gas has just about destroyed their economy.

Or commonsense to people with an education, something clearly lacking in certain suburbs in Adelaide.

You lost harder than Jimmy Carter in the "rewewable energy" thread and now you're insisting on dragging your losing arguments here. I guess I shouldn't have started speaking about the artificial "energy crisis" that we're having right now.

Your explanation as to why SA has the highest retail prices is bunkum - if we had significant variance then it would be planned for and built in to a relatively predictable schedule based on gas and coal and we would be fine. The issue is that wind frequently doesn't show up for work so the entire load has to be borne by gas, peak and off-peak variance - the whole kaboodle.

The fact that you won't acknowledge that our dependence on wind and its proclivities is the root cause of our higher power prices here is just blatant dishonesty. But let's move the conversation back to the thread that it belongs in before you ruin yet another thread - I'll repost this reply their so you can continuing losing the argument in the proper thread for it.

Agreed?

Electricity and gas prices are soaring in Australia and could possibly double by the end of this year. I've already posted this story on another thread but it appears the increases now have regulatory approval: Seven News;

Millions of customers across large parts of Australia’s eastern states are about to be hit with huge hikes to power bills as price increases approved by the regulator kick in from Friday.

In May, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) announced it would be raising the default market offer (DMO) - or the price providers are allowed to charge their customers - with the changes coming into effect from July 1.

The hikes mean Queenslanders could see an increase of up to 12.6 per cent, while those in NSW could see up to 18.3 per cent and 9.5 per cent in South Australia.

From August 1, one of the country’s biggest retailers, AGL, will slug NSW electricity customers close to 18 per cent, likely to lead to many households paying annual increase of hundreds of dollars. Meanwhile, Origin Energy prices are set to rise between 10 and 14 per cent.

As providers try to turn a profit while keeping up with surging wholesale electricity prices, experts warn the hikes could see millions of Australians struggling to pay their bills.

The really interesting thing about this disaster is that some smaller retailers are already set to double their prices for gas and electricity and they're actively warning their customers to leave them before they do that:

The prices of some smaller energy companies are also set to soar after July 1, with ReAmped and LPE increasing their prices by 100 per cent, while Discover Energy will increase by 285 per cent and GloBird by 147 per cent.

Taylor Blackburn from Finder told 7NEWS these smaller companies are hiking their prices in a bid to lose customers.

“We’ve seen a lot of smaller providers actually beg their customers to go somewhere else and to shop around,” he said.

Over the past month, some smaller providers have been warning customers to leave while they can, before their electricity bills double.

ReAmped Energy chief executive Luke Blincoe sent a letter earlier in the month to tens of thousands of customers, advising them to shop around.

It said that wholesale conditions had reached a point where it was now in the customers’ “best interests” to leave ReAmped and shop around.

“With the state of the Australian electricity market, the best thing you can do is leave ReAmped Energy and find another retailer,” Blincoe said.

“Prices are going to go up, and they are going to keep going up, and we simply don’t want to be passing those sorts of costs on to our customers.”

Does anyone else seriously not see this as an incredibly bad crisis about to hit our nation? The cost of keeping the lights on is about to double and yet nobody in power - state or federal - seems to have any plan to alleviate the runaway prices, nor do they have any idea how industry and consumers will be able to cope with a doubling in the cost of energy. In fact, we haven't heard a peep from our new federal government about the energy crisis since they've been elected - they've all been too busy showboating overseas.

The Australian Ambassador for Women & Girls, Christine Clarke (a Morrison government appointment incidentally) has tweeted out that climate change is causing rape and exacerbates the risk of violence against women: Watt's up:



Christine Clarke’s bio claims she “advocates for gender equality and the human rights of women and girls.”

“As we confront the climate crisis, women and girls’ human rights, must be at the center of our collective efforts. Climate change and its consequences can exacerbate the risks of sexual and gender-based violence. This risk is most acute for women and girls facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination and inequality, including indigenous women and girls,” Clarke explained in the video she posted.

“We stand with Pacific women and girls in responding to the climate crisis, including by providing negotiator training to support woman delegates from Pacific island countries to represent their countries in international climate change meetings,” Clarke said.

She added, that “women and girls’ human rights is an important part of securing the future of our planet and a better future for us all” and “addressing violence against women and girls in the context of climate change and the women’s peace and security agenda.”...

...This is not the first time climate and sexual violence and/or rape have been linked. In 2013, United Nations IPCC Contributing Author Solomon Hsiang a public policy prof. at U. of Calif., Berkeley, co-authored a study in the journal Science claiming the following: ‘The study found that the rate of interpersonal violence, including assaults & rapes, increases 4% for every ‘standard deviation change in climate toward warmer temps or more extreme rainfall.” Intergroup conflict rises 14%’

Just as well climate change is imaginary then!

The British Greens are pushing for a complete ban on burning wood at home to keep warm - Express UK;

ENVIRONMENTAL campaigners are calling on Britons to "protect your neighbours" and stop using log burners as using them is like having 750 diesel trucks pumping their exhaust into your living room - including those marketed as "eco-friendly".

Only stoves that meet the ecodesign standard can be legally sold as of this year in the UK and EU, but experts said that the PM2.5 pollution - which comes from wood-burning - hasn't been reduced. According to the Forum of International Respiratory Societies' Environmental Committee, PM2.5 is especially harmful to health as it can pass through the lungs into the bloodstream and then be carried around the body and lodge in organs.

Statistics also show that there are at least 40,000 early deaths a year attributed to wood burning in Europe.

The source of the original HGV figure is a report by the European Environmental Bureau, which looked at the amount of PM2.5 emissions given off by the wood stove compared to the amount generated by HGVs. Campaign group Mums for Lungs has been calling on the Government to ban the stoves over the "incredible levels of air pollution" they cause.

Jemima Hartshorn, founder of the group, told Express.co.uk: "In most cases, people are using [log burners] as an extra source of heat, they're not doing it because they don't have central heating.

"They're using them for an extra fun, cosy feeling.

"Government are pushing this narrative that people need them to keep warm during the cost of living crisis but we really feel that it's up to the Government to ensure that we don't have to choose as individuals if we can either be warm or unpolluted.

"The Government should ensure that in the fifth richest country in the world, people can breathe clean air and be warm at the same time".

The group previously submitted a Freedom of Information request and found that there were at least 18,600 complaints made to councils over a six-year period - but only 19 fines were issued during this time.

Ms Hartshorn said that Government needs to "step up their game" and ban those who have central heating from using wood-burning stoves.

She said that unless legislation is introduced, people will continue to be at the "mercy of their neighbours" adding "you're basically screwed if your neighbour on the street has a wood stove".

"They pollute their living rooms and the particulate matter comes out of their chimney and might go straight into their neighbour's living room or bedroom - and the neighbour can't do anything about it", she added.

The proposal has some substantial backing from the UK Greens who are believed to be lobbying for the introduction of a blanket ban on wood-burning stoves across the UK.

I'm actually in two minds about this because my neighbours burn wood to keep warm and their chimney is dirty so there's a lot of smoke emanating from it - its particularly bad when the weather is still. However given the price of electricity and gas rising faster than inflation I'm not sure I can condemn them for trying to find a cheaper way to stay warm. Also if you're on a farm it's crazy to not use the wood on your property to keep warm -

Germany's economy is in serious trouble as a result of the energy crisis - in fact, the first trade deficit since re-unification in 1991 -