An investigation into the actions (or rather lack of) by the electricity companies, concluded that the some part of the Victorian bush fires where people lost their lives was attributed to the lack of service of power lines which caused a bush fire.
The lack of service i.e. cost cutting, by the electricity company, led to the loss of life.
Quite simply put profits before service or even loss of life.
A policy put forward by the South Australian electricity firms was that at peak periods, the electricity companies would turn off the air conditioners from household customers.
In certain cases this could result in the death of people who are dependent on a specific environment.
This fact surely would have been part of the business plan, and it would be interesting to note what number of deaths would be considered acceptable to the electricity companies.
The masses would also be struggling to ask the obvious question, of how could a company turn of an air conditioner remotely?
Now, there is a new policy that rewards the herd, by giving discounts for not using essential services, also desensitising them that it is acceptable to turn of power to households.
The undeniable fact is that the electricity companies have not grown with the demands of the population, putting profits before services, as any infrastructure project is quite costly.
Melbourne's population (for example) has grown approximately 30% in 15 years, which currently sits at approximately 4 million.
Only under communism there was rationing of services, and we know how evil communism was, which was essentially supported by the very banks that keep the financial stronghold of people's monies today.
See article from the Herald Sun (18 Oct 2012):
Productivity Commission puts forward changes to offer cheaper power deals for reduced airconditioner use
HOUSEHOLDS would get cheaper power
deals in exchange for reducing airconditioner use during heatwaves under
sweeping changes put forward by the Productivity Commission. The reforms, which would allow for new electricity pricing based on cost and time of use, would save families up to $250 a year, according to modelling. But strict safeguards would be needed to protect vulnerable customers.
A 772-page report on Australia's electricity network said rules needed to be overhauled to stop hefty increases in the costs of building and replacing poles and wires.
It said smart meters were crucial to lowering people's bills in the long run, but hit out at the bungled Victorian roll-out, which, it says, was at an "unexpectedly high cost".
"It appears that the Victorian decision to roll out smart meters was premature and/or poorly planned with inadequate knowledge about smart-meter technologies," it says.
A freeze on time-based tariffs enabled by smart meters, which is being lifted, also stopped people getting the benefits of the costly meters.
The report found that if customers accepted a slight decrease of reliability standards in return for slightly lower bills, investment in the network could be deferred.
That money would not flow through to customers' bills until a later stage, reducing short-term bill shock.
The report takes aim at large and costly investments in poles and wires - which ultimately hit consumers and were recently attacked by Prime Minister Julia Gillard as "gold-plating" - to cater for the hottest days of the year.
"Capacity that caters for less than 40 hours a year of electricity consumption ... accounts for around 25 per cent of retail electricity bills," the report says.
The spike in electricity use during that short amount of time has increased during the past decade, "driven primarily by growth in residential airconditioning".
The Productivity Commission backs de-regulation to allow radical power deals for consumers, including those based on driving down use at peak times.
Such deals could include massive charges for using energy on the hottest days of the year, in exchange for cheaper power at other times.
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