For many years electricity tariffs did not change much from year to year and annual price increase were generally the same across all tariffs and their components (e.g. service, consumption and demand charges).
This all changed several years ago with businesses being classified as small or large customers. New and transitional tariffs have and are being introduced while others become obsolete. Charges for the individual components of tariffs are also changing at different rates as governments and retailers attempt to make electricity supply “cost reflective”.
These changes have meant that many customers have been left on, or moved to, tariffs that are not the most beneficial to them. This will remain the case as identifying and requesting tariff changes are the responsibility of the customer.
How much electricity you use, when you use it, and how much you use at a particular time of day, day of week or month of year all affect your annual costs. Matching your electricity use with the right tariff can reduce operating costs substantially.
Tropical Energy Solutions has developed a tariff calculator that identifies the most suitable Ergon Energy tariff for commercial customers based on past consumption, demand and time of use data. The calculator also shows the annual savings of changing tariffs at current electricity prices, facilitating a cost benefit analysis of any electrical works or distributor charges that may be required. We are also able to model how consumption and demand reductions can affect costs and tariff selection. An example of how a Tariff Analysis can reduce operating costs is shown in the table below:
| Peak Consumption (kWh) | Off Peak Consumption (kWh) | Shoulder Consumption (kWh) | Demand (kW) | No. of Days | Current Cost (Ergon Tariff 22 Small & Large) | New Cost (Ergon Tariff 45) | Annual Savings |
| 722,417 | 500,750 | 54,624 | 303-460 | 365 | $441,835 | $370,877 | $70,958 |
This example is from a single account operated by one of our customers. Further investigations showed that the metering was already set up for the recommended tariff. The customer was able to change to the new tariff via an e-mail with no cost or disruption to their operations. As electricity prices continue to rise in the future so too will the annual savings.
Click here to go to our projects page and see more examples of our Tariff Analysis projects.
If you are a large energy consumer (more than 100,000kWh/year) you may also be interested in further savings by switching energy retailers. Learn about our Energy Brokerage services.