[LINK] Electricity prices

[stephen at melbpc.org.au]

Mike writes,

> > "Australians Now Pay Near to the Highest Electricity Prices in the
> > World"
> >
> > http://www.euaa.com.au/whats_new/index.htm
> > http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2012/s3460106.htm
> >
> 
> I don't argue that Australians pay pretty high power bills, and we get
> a pretty high grade of service (the power just works >99.99% of the
> time).
> This report is a little disengenious, however, comparing Australian
> prices to EU averages, the US and Japan to reach its conclusions.
> Instead, checking the table per country, we see Australia's most
> expensive state is still below Denmark and Germany .. on the whole,
> Australia pays a bit above average for OECD countries.. I don't feel
> especially outraged.


Good on you Mike for investigating this. This study claimed that we have 
currently the sixth most expensive power in the world. Does your research 
dispute this? However, for our home in the Philippines, we pay around one
quarter to a third the price that we do here for roughly the same amounts.
And that's for diesel-generated power. Here in country Victoria our power
goes off around once a week, and about twice a week in the Phils. But, in
Vic we dig up 'free' brown coal and the power lines have been built years
ago. How does diesel compare so favourably with free brown coal? Beats me.

Cheers,
Stephen