Power Hijack: Tanzanian power thieves and Indian electricity rebels.

As you may have noticed One Big Switch are currently campaigning against rising electricity prices. With over 18,000 signatures on our “Tell The Senate: Consumers Want Clarity” Campaign, it is clear Australians want to increase price transparency, as they’re feeling the effects of increasing power bills. Internationally, consumers are feeling the pinch also, however it appears some are taking less traditional approaches to tackling rising electricity costs.

It’s recently been reported that in Tanzania, a luxury pub was caught out having erected it’s own electricity pole, and switching the illegally connected power on at sundown. While this may have seemed like a good idea at the time, the publican responsible won’t be reconnected until he has paid back the power as well as the incurred fines. In India, similar action has been threatened by political aspirant; Arvind Kejriwal.

Kejriwal has threatened he will disconnect the power of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in protest against recent electricity rate rises. Now, while they both seem like interesting ways to beat the rising cost of electricity, we wouldn’t recommend either way.

A far safer and perfectly legal way to have your voice heard is through the current submission to the senate for their inquiry into electricity pricing. Increased price transparency and access to data, can only function to empower the consumer. By pledging your support at www.onebigswitch.com.au you can have your voice heard, and as proved by the success of our recent Big Electricity Switch, people power can make a difference.

What measures would you like to be put into action to benefit the consumer?

Have you heard of any other less traditional ways to reduce the heat of rising electricity costs?

People Power push for change at electricity price inquiry

Giving evidence to the Senate committee in Brisbane

The message that consumers want to be part of the solution to high electricity prices now rather than later seems to have got through to Canberra.

I have just given evidence on the One Big Switch submission to the Senate select committee on electricity prices in Brisbane.

Our reforms  are around making electricity plan prices more transparent to help drive competition and giving consumers  access to their own energy usage data.

The record should show the senators found our practical  and constructive ideas about empowering consumers worthwhile and interesting.

They also welcomed a submission which clearly supported giving consumers the tools to make change in the short and not the long term.

It also seemed our examples of the Green Button in the USA sparked good  questions about how it might apply here.

And the 17,000 consumers who signed off supporting our submission made a real difference with a show of public support.

Keep on signing up at onebigswitch.com.au as we shall table the petition later in the week.