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Labor's carbon tax lie

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jbocker said:
I wonder if every residence should have free base load of power - what the baseload is I could not say, but use beyond that baseload then pay on a escalating scale.
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Baseload by definition is that load which is constant 24/7 on the grid as a whole. In other words, the minimum load routinely reached overnight (as distinct from the extreme minimum which is infrequent).

As for how much of total electricity generation that is, it varies between states somewhat. It is high in Qld and Tas since minimum loads are still fairly high relative to maximum loads due to the high % of total load going into 24/7 manufacturing and other heavy industry in both states and also due to the widespread use of centrally switched off-peak water heating in Qld.

At the other end is SA where minimum load is less than a quarter of maximum load due to the huge spikes driven by air-conditioning and a relative lack of 24/7 heavy industry. The other states are somewhere in between.

In the context of peaks, it's generally on a Summer afternoon (around 3pm) except in Tas where it's during Winter (typically around 8am with a second peak around 6pm). NSW is notable for having a Summer and Winter peak of similar magnitude whereas in the other states there is a large difference between the seasons.

Reasons for the peaks are basically air-conditoning in all states except Tas, and space heating in NSW and Tas. The widespread use of non-electric heating in Vic, SA and WA is such that Winter electricity demand isn't really an issue even though they do use quite a lot of heating.
 
Thanks Smurf. I have mis-used the term 'baseload'. What I meant was a set amount of power to all households that is free. Then using beyond the 'base' or free limit, you pay, on a sliding scale the more you use the higher the rate. This gets over the poor old pensioner having to suffer the rising costs blah blah. NO APOLOGIES to the current affairs programs who will miss out on making constant articles on the subject. And then maybe the CA programs could report on something that educates the masses what global warming / cooling is supposed to mean or pester the government how the carbon tax helps resolve it.
 
jbocker said:
....... you pay, on a sliding scale the more you use the higher the rate..............
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Jb, I think your idea is excellent. It might encourage people to be more thoughtful about leaving lights on and running AC unnecessrily.

In the last quarter we used $3.00 worth of power for hot water (solar, boosted by off-peak power at night when necessary), but still had to pay the $15 base charge. There is no incentive in that.
 
Thanks Ruby.

..and therein lies the end of the debate about a carbon tax. The more energy you use the higher the rate/unit you pay retrospective to all units used. Those who choose to use more pay a higher rate .. thats the carbon tax if you dare to call it such.

I would then outlaw that companies pay a persons power bills as part of their 'salary package' too. The incentive is to use less, penalties apply if you choose to use more.
 
You would think that using less you pay less.....sounds logical but up here in QLD the electricity companies are increasing their prices by 6.6% from July because of lost revenue over summer as people used less and solar!!!!
Gotta love corporate greed!
 
I too am a great admirer of Bob Carter. He talks sound common sense. As he says, "The hypothesis is:- 'Human CO2 emissions are causing dangerous climate change'". So he has no axe to grind.
 
bellenuit said:
Please recycle instead.
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Why bother? Heard that Gillard has just flown up to Alice Springs - I would think her carbon footprint would be many times worse than burning a piece of paper...
 
What more needs to be said? Actions speak so very much louder than words. They seem to be saying, "do as I say and not do as I do".

Full story from Andrew Bolt, Courier Mail: Slash your emissions, they yelled from the jet


Do the carbon tax supporters see this as being rather hypocritcal?
 
Barnaby Joyce has a petition against carbon tax that will be taken to the house of reps.




Link to Petition on Barnaby's website...
 
"7.30" this evening had a piece about the likelihood of brownouts and blackouts within the next five years.
This concerns me a lot more than any financial impost.
Doesn't the government have a responsibility to ensure the population is not disadvantaged by loss of supply?

Smurf: could you comment on this?
 

I read it was due to uncertainty on whether was to be carbon tax and what form it would take. Companies like AGL, Origin etc are ready to build gas power stations but they can't compete against brown coal power stations in terms of cost of power.

Similarly the brown coal power stations won't expand if they think a carbon tax is coming in. Also Australia doesn't want to build too many more of them.

This uncertainty is what forced Gillard to jump. It still is uncertain by the way. Hard for any company to mount a business case to spend billions of dollars.

I would be interested in Smurfs viewpoint also.
 
I understand your point and in some cases it is true that elderly pensioners etc may benefit from this. However, it's not unusual to find elderly people with huge bills, likewise families with one parent at home.

The reasons for that are pretty simple. A long time spent at home = more electricity used. Add in that elderly people generally wouldn't choose to use wood heating unless they really had to (who wants to be lugging a few tonnes of wood around every year when they're 70+?) and they are effectively trapped with huge electricity bills.

So who has the really low bills? Young singles, working couples, shacks. In other words, mostly those who can afford to pay more or who are already receiving some form of financial assistance (students etc).

Climate is a huge factor too. Not much hassle living in Brisbane with no air-conditioning and minimal heating. But try living in Adelaide with no means of cooling and it's not to pleasant. I wouldn't want to be in Tassie with no heating either. At the time of writing this, it was below 10 degrees in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and Hobart so suggestions that everyone move somewhere warmer don't really help either.

I can pay my bills. I've got solar power, heat pump hot water, wood heating and gas cooking so I'm not about to panic over electricity bills. My last bill was $220 which by local standards given the need for heating is ridiculously low (to the point that most wouldn't believe it to be possible). But for anyone who is elderly, renting or who can't afford the capital cost of new appliances it's a huge issue when that $800 bill turns up after Winter.

My mother lives by herself. Electric cooking and hot water, reverse cycle A/C for heating supplemented by an old off-peak heater. Winter bills are around $600 and that's after the pensioner discount and before the 11% (!) rise that comes in at the end of June. The sad thing is, that $600 bill is nowhere near the upper end of what would be considered "normal" these days, indeed it's pretty good for an all-electric house.
 
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