With tech billionaires trying to teach dinosaurs how to dance, regulators reminding generators of their obligations to deliver, market operators suspending market operations, and headlines screaming ‘energy crisis’, normal people can be forgiven for being confused and concerned.
How could an energy rich country like Australia be short of energy, and indeed what is actually going on?
Everyone is an energy expert these days, so we will try to refrain from adding to the noise. Nevertheless, we can’t help ourselves from putting in our two bits worth.
Direct participation in electricity markets is dominated by few corporations, and a handful of them control pricing. We like to go to the Australian Energy Market Operator’s dashboard to look at the current “Fuel Mix” to get a feel for who’s driving things at any given moment.
You can see this for yourself at:
But where are the other participants – those millions of us who consume or produce our own electricity?
Well, participation in wholesale markets is limited to a few. Individuals like us are not invited.
There are about 9 million households buying electricity in the eastern states, and, according to the Clean Energy Regulator, we have installed 2.7 million solar generators and over 40 thousand batteries in our houses.
We have spent over $15 billion of our personal capital, and control aggregated generation capacity of 15 GW out of the total installed capacity of 68 GW in the eastern states.
This is all well and good, but how is this relevant in navigating this energy crisis?
The important thing to note is that we are in the middle of a profound change in the way we produce and consume energy.
And this change is occurring faster than governments and existing energy companies can follow. Fast change is always bumpy, and both the energy companies and the consumers are being seriously challenged.
So, in an environment of accelerating change, is it really a surprise that tech billionaires are stalking incumbents, and many retailers are paying their customers to go away?
Collectively, individuals are driving this change, but we do not have a seat at the table where policy is made, nor can we benefit from direct participation in the wholesale market or access the suppliers and consumers directly.
This is where Localvolts comes in – we give individuals opportunities to profit in this changing environment.
For those of you who produce and inject excess energy into the grid, Localvolts gives you the ability to sell directly into the wholesale market, and/or to sell directly to other consumers. You can also share your energy with people you care for.
For those of you who consume energy, Localvolts gives you the ability to directly buy from the wholesale market, and/or to buy directly from other producers. You can also prioritise your preferred suppliers.
Open and direct access to the wholesale market and to the multitude of buyers and sellers should give you the best outcomes.
If you have any questions, or would like more information about Localvolts, contact us via our contact page.
The Localvolts Team.
