Tree chopping and slugging solar users: power co looks for answers
Chopping down trees under power lines, pruning trees more often, and increasing bills for solar panel users are some of the proposals South Australia’s electricity network operator has floated in a customer survey.
SA Power Networks has commissioned Deloitte to test the public’s views on some controversial proposals before the operator makes a submission to the Essential Services Commission of SA in 2014.
The survey was advertised in News Limited newspapers on the weekend.
“When it comes to how SA Power Networks manages vegetation, to what extent would you support strategies that create a more pleasing visual result for trimmed vegetation, whilst still delivering on community safety and legislative obligations (for example, more frequent trimming cycles)?,” the survey asks.
“With regards to vegetation management, in areas where there is a lower priority on visual appearance, would you support the removal of trees and/or replacement of these trees with more appropriate vegetation (‘appropriate’ vegetation refers to smaller or slower growing trees)?”
SA Power Networks regularly trim trees that grow near power lines, sometimes leading to controversy in the community about the visual quality of the pruning.
SA Power Networks stakeholder relations manager Paul Roberts told InDaily if they started trimming those trees more often, less savage cuts would need to be made – a practice that has copped criticism from residents and community groups in the past.
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“At the moment the regulatory funding funds us to do a three-yearly cycle,” he said.
“It means we have to take account of the growth of the trees over the period till we come back.
“If we can shorten the cycle then the trees will require less trimming.”
The trees that could be targeted for cutting down would be those in the “middle of nowhere” as opposed to “a tree lined street in the middle of Hahndorf”, Roberts said.
The survey also includes a question which suggests that people who have installed solar panels installed are being unfairly subsidised by those who don’t – and asks customers whether they would support charging those people more.
“Due to the way customers are currently charged for their electricity, which is based on energy consumed rather than the way they use the network, the customers installing these new technologies do not necessarily pay their equitable share for their connection to the network or any upgrades that may be required,” the survey says.
“This means the customers who don’t have these technologies end up paying more.
“Some customers aren’t paying enough to cover the cost of their network usage, and other customers are paying more as a result.
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“Would you support the phased introduction of tariffs that more closely reflect the costs of different customers’ usage of the network?”
SA Power Networks’ fellow network operator ElectraNet has been lobbying power industry regulator ESCOSA to allow it to reduce its reliability standards – increasing the frequency of “brownouts” and-blackouts – so it could cut investment in its network, this reducing customer bills.
Last month the push won support from the Energy Consumers Coalition SA.
In the past ESCOSA has knocked back ElectraNet’s lobbying on this issue.
SA Power Networks’ survey asks a range of questions about how satisfied customers are with reliability of the power supply, and their views about the impact of power outages of various lengths.
Roberts said SA Power Networks had nothing to do with ElectraNet’s lobbying of ESCOSA, but confirmed the company was interested in the public opinion on reducing reliability standards.
“As you increase the level of reliability – we’re already at 99.8 per cent reliable – as you try to push reliability any higher than that it’s going to require considerable investment.
“Certainly we’re trying to gauge what people’s comfort levels are with reliability and it’s obviously an interest in whether people believe the reliability level is suitable.”
But it would take a pretty substantial result for SA Power Networks to be convinced there was scope for the lowering of reliability, he said.
“People clearly want reliable supply. It would have to be some pretty convincing evidence of any need to change the target.”
Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis declined to comment directly on ElectraNet’s push slightly lower reliability standards in exchange for bill cuts.
“ESCOSA is the body that sets service standards as part of a regulatory process overseen by the Australian Energy Regulator. SA Power Networks has indicated it would like to survey its customers before preparing its submission to ESCOSA on possible changes to service standards. The Government awaits with interest the outcome of that survey,” the Minister said through a spokesperson.
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