Don’t Let Retailers Force You On To Time-Of-Use Tariffs When You Go Solar

When you get solar panels installed, your old electricity meter is replaced with a smart meter.  Unless you already have one.    

This isn’t a bad thing in itself, as smart meters provide some advantages.  But there is a problem if installing a smart meter is used as an excuse to foist a time-of-use (TOU) tariff on people who would rather not have one.

In Tasmania, you are put onto a time of use tariff by default when a solar power system is installed.  The good news is you are not required to stay on it and are free to change to any tariff an electricity retailer is willing to offer you, whether it is a time-of-use or a standard tariff that charges a flat rate per kilowatt-hour.  Aurora Energy — Tasmania’s largest electricity retailer — appears happy to tell people they’re able to change.  The drawback is the process can take months. 

In the past, I’ve heard complaints about people in Victoria being put on time-of-use tariffs against their will and not being able to change back when they had solar installed.  I looked into this but was unable to get a straight answer from any of the electricity retailers I contacted. 

Victoria’s Energy Ombudsman¹ office says Victorians are free to choose any electricity plan offered to them by retailers.  There are at least a dozen retailers in Victoria that offer plans with standard tariffs, so finding one should not be a problem.  They also told me if Victorians are on any plan they don’t want, they are free to change.  

I was also told the Ombudsman’s office could help you complain if you are prevented from changing plans.  And by “you”, I mean “Victorians”.  I can’t complain for you because I’m sitting here in Radelaide and not willing to move to Victoria for all the tea in Tasmania.² 

The bad news is, if you are on a time-of-use plan that you don’t want, it can take months to change.  This delay seems ridiculous because one of the advantages of smart meters is that they allow electricity plans to be changed almost immediately.

Time-Of-Use Vs. Standard Tariff

Electricity retailers offer two main tariffs³:

• Standard tariffs:  These traditional tariffs charge a flat rate per kilowatt-hour.
• Time-of-use:  The amount charged depends on when the grid electricity is used.  These require a smart meter.

Almost all electricity retailers offer plans with either type.  A quick look shows 12 electricity retailers are offering at least one plan with a standard tariff in Melbourne.   

A Drawn-Out Investigation

I first looked into whether solar homes could be forced onto a time-of-use tariff a long time ago.  This was because of complaints from people in the Ausnet network area in Victoria⁴ of being forced onto a time-of-use tariff when they had solar installed.

Unfortunately, when I talked to Ausgrid, they weren’t able to tell me what the retailers would allow and when I called electricity retailers, I only got call centre operators who, through no fault of their own, were unable to answer my questions.

Because I didn’t want to spend hours on hold trying to get through to someone who could explain to my poor little brain what was going on, I came up with what I thought was a cunning plan.  Instead of calling, I instead mailed physical letters to electricity retailers.  I figured they would eventually end up on the desk of someone who had the information I wanted, and they would call me or, if I were really lucky, I’d get a written response.  

I thought I was so clever. 

I sent the letters to the Victorian headquarters of Australia’s three largest electricity retailers.  In order from biggest to least biggest…

• Origin Energy
• AGL
• Energy Australia 

My plan failed miserably.  I didn’t get a single reply.  Well, one of them did have a call centre operator contact me and try to sell an electricity plan, but that wasn’t what I was after. 

This caused me to become discouraged, and I became distracted by other things.  I’m not saying I gave up, but I did regard it as a Treaty of Versailles kind of moment and thought maybe I’d take a short 20-year break before leaping into the thick of things again. 

But then, a week ago, some Dutch people⁵ in Victoria asked me if they would be required to go on a time-of-use tariff if they installed solar panels, so I decided I had better take another look. 

That’s the thing with the Dutch.  As soon as you think you’re out, they drag you back in again.  But the thought of refusing to help didn’t cross my mind.  This is because, when it comes to the Dutch, I’m willing to do anything to make them leave me alone.⁶

NSW Government Gets It Right

One of the Dutch people — or maybe it was a Finn⁷ — pointed out the NSW Government has the back of people in their state.  On the NSW Government page on smart meters, it clearly states it’s not necessary to go on a time-of-use tariff. 

Here’s a screenshot of the relevant section:

In other words, if you can find an electricity retailer that offers a standard tariff with a flat rate — and most do — then you can use it.   

Victoria’s Energy Ombudsman Says You Are Free To Choose

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a similarly clear statement on the Victorian Government’s smart meter page or any other page of theirs I looked at.  So I called the Energy and Water Ombudsman of Victoria and they told me that Victorians are free to change to any electricity plan any retailer is willing to offer.  They also told me Victorians who have a problem resolving problems with electricity plans themselves could contact them for help. 

Solar Victoria Wasn’t Helpful

I called Solar Victoria, which is part of the Victorian Government’s Department of Environment, Water, Land and Planning. I wanted to see if they would back up what the independent ombudsman said.  They said they didn’t have any information on tariffs or electricity plans but told me I could ring the Essential Services Commission and ask them. 

I called them, and a recording told me to leave a recording.  While I’m sure they’ll get back to me, I couldn’t help but suspect recordings were merely using me to reproduce themselves.  I decided that, in the meantime, I should call some people who would definitely know what’s going on.

I Call Solar Installers

Because I couldn’t get a clear answer from the Distributed Network Service Provider, electricity retailers, Solar Victoria or the state government, and because the Ombudsman could only tell me what should happen and not what actually was happening,  I decided to call some solar installers because they would actually know what is going on. 

First, I sent Tarak Shah of Sunrun Solar a message.  He didn’t take long to get in touch with me and said people are free to use whatever electricity plan with whatever tariff electricity retailers offer.  Since he’s been installing in Victoria for seven years, that suggests people being forced onto time-of-use tariffs would have to be rare. 

Next, I contacted Cameron of HDC Solar Solutions who installs in the Ausnet area.  He’d told me he’d never had a customer forced onto a time-of-use tariff, and he had only heard of it happening one time.  This is very encouraging news.  If people are being forced onto time-of-use tariffs they’d rather not have when they get solar these days, it would have to be an extremely rare occurrence.   

Changing To The Plan You Want Can Take Months

No matter where you are, if you are on a time-of-use tariff you’d rather not have, you should be able to change to a standard tariff.  Unfortunately, this can take months.  The delay makes no sense because you can only have a time-of-use tariff if you have a smart meter installed and they make changing tariffs very easy.  When you move home in Victoria, only a couple of business days notice is required and the disconnection and reconnection fees are only about $5-8.  Changing plans should be even simpler because there’s no real chance of getting the address wrong. 

I can understand if electricity retailers don’t want people chopping and changing plans too frequently because that creates work for them, but retailers should be bending over backwards to help anyone who isn’t a serial plan changer.  They also shouldn’t do much to get in the way of people who are serial plan-changers⁸, because — for better or worse — people are supposed to be free to choose.

Use Encouragement, Not Force

Time-of-use tariffs can reduce grid costs by discouraging electricity consumption during peak periods, so I can understand wanting to encourage their use.  But forcing something onto people who don’t want it is not a good way to get them to like it.  That’s not how human nature works—especially not Australian nature. 

Sending people letters pointing out how much they would have saved if they were time-of-use tariff instead of a standard one is fine.  So is offering to give them free timers for their appliances.  But anyone who tries to convince people to use a time-of-use tariff when it almost certainly costs them money is doing a bad thing.  Even if you spend your weekends doing volunteer work at puppy orphanages, you are in danger of people regarding you as a bad person.

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In Conclusion…

To sum things up:

• If you are in Tasmania and get solar, you will be put onto a time-of-use tariff by default but can change.
• In Victoria, you should not be put on a time-of-use tariff against your will when you get solar panels.
• If you are on any tariff you don’t want, anywhere in Australia; you are free to change if you are in an area with retailer choice.
• If you are Victorian and have trouble changing plans, the Energy and Water Ombudsman of Victoria says they can help.
• Changing electricity plans can take months, and electricity retailers can and should improve this for anyone with a smart meter. 
• Don’t believe what electricity retailer call centres tell you. 

Thanks to the Victorian solar companies Sunrun Solar and HDC Solar Solutions for their help with this post.

Original Source: https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/time-of-use-tariffs-solar/