BUSINESS SURVEY OF RESIDENTIAL ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION (BSRED), EXPERIMENTAL ESTIMATES
INTRODUCTION
Statistics in this publication are derived from electricity metering information collected by the ABS from administrative records held by electricity distributors within New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania. Statistics for the remaining states of Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia are expected to be published in December 2013. Estimates will not be released for the Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory as statistics were not considered sufficiently robust for publication.
The BSRED collected data from all 15 businesses in Australia that supply residential electricity and covers approximately 9.1 million meters. The data from the BSRED Experimental Estimates presents electricity volumes supplied between dwellings and distributor networks for residential meters in Australia by standard ABS geographical regions (SA2, SA3, SA4, state) as well as the major climate zones for calendar years 2010, 2011 and 2012.
The data in this release are the result of recent development work to produce estimates of electricity volumes using data from electricity distributors. While a majority of the data were derived from direct aggregation of electricity meter reads, additional adjustments were made as necessary using standard statistical methodologies to produce more accurate estimates. While every effort has been made to ensure their accuracy and reliability, the estimates and underlying methodologies are experimental and care should be exercised in their use and interpretation. The Explanatory Notes provide more detail on the definitions and the statistics methods. The fitness of the BSRED Experimental Estimates for particular purposes should be determined by data users in consultation with the ABS.
MAIN FINDINGS
- Between 2010 and 2012, the average amount of electricity supplied to residential meters from the network grid has steadily decreased for a majority of statistical areas. The decline may be attributed to a number of factors including, but not limited to:
- Increases in electricity prices - according to the Consumer Price Index (cat. no. 6401.0) electricity prices increased by 49% between December 2009 and December 2012.
- Increased uptake of small scale renewable technologies (e.g. solar panels), leading to less electricity being imported from the grid.
- Milder weather associated with La Niña weather patterns in 2010 and 2011.
- Consumer response to new energy efficiency legislation, such as mandatory need to achieve a 6-star level of energy efficiency for all new homes and extensions.
- Between 2010 and 2012, the average amount of electricity exported to the network grid from residence with small scale renewable technologies (mainly from solar panels) has increased significantly for a majority of statistical areas. The increase can be attributed to a number of factors including, but not limited to:
- Increased uptake of small scale renewable technologies (e.g. solar panels).
- Commonwealth renewable energy installation subsidies.
- Favourable state government electricity feed in tariffs for renewable energy.
- Reduced up front costs, making photovoltaic more affordable and attractive to residential customers.
- Growing efficiencies in rolling out photovoltaic systems.
Print Page
Print All