Service and supply fee's =double dipping

Mowdit · 01-10-2015, 06:48 PM

Was thinking about electricity, with all of the little bits that add up, usage tariff's and service/supply charges.

Isnt it DOUBLE DIPPING ?

What ever happened to the user pays principle?

You use lots and all the additional costs are in the end PRICE, like petrol, milk, jeans and 99% of everything, except utilities and a few select things.

Will you for instance ever go and buy petrol at the servo for $1.80 and go in to pay to be hit with a "service fee", "supply fee", "transport fee", "account keeping fee" .........

Oh sorry Sir, the sign says $1.80 per litre +, so its really $3.20 a litre

zabatron · 02-10-2015, 03:00 AM

Don't give the petrol companies ideas!

xxx000 · 02-10-2015, 09:29 AM

there's a cost to make power available to your home and that's what the supply charge is for. Usage charge is for any power that you then use.

it's clearly not double dipping and I don't know how you'd even begin to think that

XB GS 351 Coupe · 02-10-2015, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xxx000

there's a cost to make power available to your home and that's what the supply charge is for. Usage charge is for any power that you then use.

it's clearly not double dipping and I don't know how you'd even begin to think that

How dare you use your brain and talk common sense, no one will have it.

Ben73 · 02-10-2015, 07:32 PM

You want to charge me for materials and labor? Pick one, jerks!
- Homer Simpson.

Spurious · 06-10-2015, 08:42 PM

They do get you for connection & disconnection fees though, even though they actually do NOTHING to justify the $160+ fee.

I moved into a place a few years ago I made the mistake of asking the power company to "connect" the power as it was turned off in the meter box.
By turned off I mean the switch was zip tied in the OFF position.

I told the power mob I was moving on a certain day, I got there that morning, removed the zip tie & moved in. At 6pm that evening the bloke finally showed up to remove said zip tie, & charged me $170 for the privilege!!!

Now THAT is a rip off.
Then when I moved out they charged me $190 to refit the zip tie !!!

**GasoLane** · 06-10-2015, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xxx000

there's a cost to make power available to your home and that's what the supply charge is for. Usage charge is for any power that you then use.

it's clearly not double dipping and I don't know how you'd even begin to think that

Not sure about that, a few years ago we had Gas finally put into our street so we got them to put a meter on the house.

There was no gas actually connected to the house as we had no Gas appliances, but we still had to pay the 'service fee'.

For the privilege of having their Gas meter bolted on the side of the house I guess.

adumb · 06-10-2015, 10:35 PM

You should see my water bill for a vacant block of land!

bazza91 · 06-10-2015, 11:52 PM

You get a water bill on a vacant lot??
Whats the bill for?

sleepisforthedead · 07-10-2015, 01:07 AM

For the privilege of having access to water.. even if you don't use it.

I got stung with this on one of my properties.. pieces of *****

Crazy Dazz · 07-10-2015, 04:42 AM

You're right, I think I'll just stop paying tax because I don't like it.

If fact, I'll just stop paying for everything, bastards.

Mowdit · 07-10-2015, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xxx000

there's asubsidizing her "network usemake power available to your home and that's what the supply charge is for. Usage charge is for any power that you then use.

it's clearly not double dipping and I don't know how you'd even begin to think that

True, there is a cost in maintaining the aging network (that long ago paid for itself)

What I was driving at is that you pay virtually the same price for fuel in Botany nsw ( 1klm from the fuel terminal) as you do 60klm west (with a round trip of some 4+ hours for the delivery tanker).

The Electrical network is still a wear item (as in the transformers that reduce the power, and running more power thru them shortens the life, kinda like tyres)

So, if I use stuff all Vs my neighbor who runs the reverse cycle air cond every day for the last week, and it will be running on heating by tonight (after todays temp drop from yesterday)
She uses more "power" but I am "subsidizing" her network use ??

All I am saying is if it COSTS 20 cents to produce 1KWH of electricity, plus 4 cents profit plus 6 cents for network maintenance thats 30cents to the customer "who actually use it" !

Imagine BHP steel works, supply charge for the quarter $89, actual meter use $2,412,500.00
They get A LOT of network use for stuff all, and "because they are a GOOD customer" they get a massive discount on the KWH price they pay

Agree G6AUII, the connection charges are a rort.
Adumb, I agree, its like getting a bill for "looking in a shop window"

Harrison · 07-10-2015, 12:00 PM

Privatisation is a wonderful thing -

http://www.businessspectator.com.au/...lectricity-rip

bazza91 · 07-10-2015, 12:08 PM

So you are getting charged money for having access to water even if you dont want it?

Its something i dont understand. Ive only ever rented properties since moving out of home, My dad live out of town on about 20 acres, but he doesnt have town water connected so no bills at all. His house runs on tank water, and bottled gas. So the only connection charges he pays is for electricity.

Mowdit · 07-10-2015, 01:00 PM

Taken from the linked article Harrison posted.

"Take, for example, one of Australia’s largest network owners, NSW Government owned Ausgrid.
Ausgrid has the single largest share of customers in the entire National Electricity Market (around 18 per cent) making them the canary in the coal mine. In their 2013 report, the Australian Energy Regulator had this to say: “There have been many large changes in the relative and overall magnitude of the charging parameters within the period. Of particular note is the 471.14 per cent increase in the fixed charge in 2012-13,

The government owns, regulates and controls the vast majority of the electricity industry in Australia all the way back to the coal reserves in some cases. They make a phenomenal amount of money from it, as do the non-government retailers – and they don’t want it to change. "

No wonder the Government don't want change !
Smells like a conflict of interest's, give approvals and permits, regulate what can be charged, cash in on all of it, tell the public we will help reduce pollution by taxing more !!!

blueoval · 07-10-2015, 01:13 PM

It's all part of a ploy to rid society of the middle class for the New world order.

*puts tin foil hat on*

Harrison · 07-10-2015, 01:51 PM

[QUOTE=blueoval;5493582]It's all part of a ploy to rid society of the middle class for the New world order.

We do still have a successful Middle Class. able to afford a vast range of suburban housing and to live well here it's true.

They just happen to be mostly Chinese citizens these days.

http://www.oecd.org/els/soc/49499779.pdf

vztrt · 07-10-2015, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harrison

Privatisation is a wonderful thing -

http://www.businessspectator.com.au/...lectricity-rip

Yet the biggest increases for power have come from government owned sectors.

Ben73 · 10-10-2015, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adumb

You should see my water bill for a vacant block of land!

Come to think of it I have been charged for waste collection services on a vacant lot that doesn't even have a rubbish bin.
Need to get onto council so I can get my bin and start using it since I'm paying for it.

danzvtil · 10-10-2015, 08:20 PM

A commercial building I do maintenance for have council supplied wheelie bins, but their waste gets put into a private waste bin which they pay for such is the volume they create. Every week, I still fill the wheelie bins and put them out on principle, they are paid for in council rates.

Ben73 · 11-10-2015, 01:41 AM

Exactly right it's the principle of it. I bet the garbage trucks have never even been down my street before since nothing is on it yet. I'll still put the bin out each week when I get it and ring them up if it's missed.

Sabantien · 11-10-2015, 12:34 PM

I used to work in the electricity industry, and was told the problem is they only put in the bare minimum needed to supply power, then suddenly a new housing estate gets built and they not only have to supply power to that estate, they have to upgrade every bit of equipment all the way back to the power station because there was no future capacity built into it.

More recently they've started fixing that problem, but have run into another one. People are reducing their usage so much that they're not making as much money as they thought they would, so prices skyrocket to pay for it all.

My latest bill is over $400. That's one person in a one bedroom unit, no constantly running heat or aircon, the led lights always off unless i'm in the room, tv almost never on, just the computer when I'm home in the evenings.

I miss paying $150 a quarter.

vztrt · 12-10-2015, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sabantien

My latest bill is over $400. That's one person in a one bedroom unit, no constantly running heat or aircon, the led lights always off unless i'm in the room, tv almost never on, just the computer when I'm home in the evenings.

I miss paying $150 a quarter.

Your hot water is through electricity and not gas?