INCREASED UTILITY CHARGES IN NSW

[bronhill]

Is anyone else out there fed up with paying through the nose for our basic utilities and IPART ( Independent Pricing and Reg Tribunal appeasing the companies by approving requests for increases to supposedly pay for infrastructure which should have been maintained, repaired or replaced years ago with monies already received?

Seems writing to the Government and politicians is a waste of time
How can we as citizens ensure water and electricity remains affordable? The Government is espousing increased population growth ( obviously to keep developers happy and in the money, and big business who is already receiving their utilities at a much cheaper rate) but many people are finding it increasingly difficult on an average wage to pay their bills- or else save some dollars to spend on themselves and families!
Don't know about you but I am pretty angry about this as it seems the authorities have a " pay up or we cut the service off" mentality! What does it tale- a revolution? People no longer have a say and with distance a problem most are not in a position to spend hundreds of dollars to visit Sydney to protest- the ballot box doesn't seem to make a difference . When did most politicians develop a blatant disregard for their constituents and when did IPART become GOD?
Any ideas?

[Bevvy17]

I'm with you Bronhill. Here in Qld the charges are creeping up as well. For now, those that can continue to pay these sorts of hideous charges outnumber us people who struggle. so complaints to local State Members falls on deaf ears. Electricity i thought, was an essential service like water - but it seems govts around this country think it needs handing over to private enterprises to run it & charge us a motza for doing so. The aimish idea seems appealing right now........

[bronhill]

Seems it is happening everywhere Bevvy. More interest in profiteering as a result of selling off what already belonged to us, the taxpayer! We have been informed that electricity prices will rise by 60% to pay for infrastructure- outrageously expensive given our bill has been steadily increasing despite cost cutting measures such as replacing incandescent globes with fluoro globes, new appliances with better star rating given our old ones are as old as we are.
Our last water account rose from its usual $250 to $440- after a cap was initiated at 150kL and anything above charged at twice the rate...even though we are frugal and use dripper irrigation systems we ended up with a hefty bill. For the elderly or those with lower incomes wanting to grow their own veggies or simply have gardening as a hobby- forget it as it is just too costly an exercise.
One good thing about QLD is that one does not need to spend too much on heating- so maybe we should sell up and move north? Or perhaps leave the country entirely for somewhere where we are not continually ripped off?

[snickerdoodle]

People aren't supposed to grow their own veggies. They are supposed to buy them either at Coles or Woolies at obscenely overinflated prices. Most people don't even have a backyard anymore thanks to idiotic zoning regulations that aim to create the slum suburbs of tomorrow. The price increases on energy are not at all for infrastructure. There will be no improvements or added value for the extra money that we are expected to pay. For us consumers it will be a case of pay more and expect much less.

Numerous polticians have made their views abundantly clear. Australia's working middle class has too much, lives too well and we've had it too good for too long. This is the rhetoric that now comes from Canberra and our various state governments and people better start paying attention.

Julia Gillard is talking about moving Australia forward to protect the Australian way of life. I would like her to explain her own definition of what exactly that is. If she was serious about protecting the Australian way of life her campaign slogan should be 'Lets stop the Rip Off'.

[Legless]

Yep here in Qld power went up 15% last year then over 9% this year with more increases to come. The water services are under the control of a new body who run the "Urban Utilities" and of course now comes on a separate bill. There was no way that was going to cost us less. Hand everything over to private companies seems to be the way of all modern governments. Look at the USofA, Britain and other countries since governments gave up control of essential services. Companies exists for one reason; make shareholders money, not service.

[Danny_b]

It's happening all over. A lack of spending on infrastructure and drastically increasing demand in previous years has lead to significant shortfalls in infrastructure. If a smaller amount had been spent on maintenance in the past, the costs now would be significantly lower. The failing powerlines that caused bushfires in Victoria last year is a classic example.

I was reading a study though that in real terms, electricity is cheaper than it was 30 years ago. Although with the current rises (mine went up about 17% at the start of this year), I'm sure that will change soon.