All Tariffs displayed on the Energy Page are ex-GST
You can enter the customer’s electricity bill details in 4 ways. They are listed below, starting with the simplest through to most advanced.
Quick Quote
When you click New Quote, select the Quick Quote option.
You will be asked to enter the bill total /month (ex Sales tax). From this, SolarPlus will automatically set 3 things:
The electricity tariff. This is a basic flat rate tariff, comprising a $1/day supply charge, 30c grid import tariff and 6c grid export tariff (feed-in tariff).
The average daily kWh usage. This is calculated based on:
(Bill total) - (daily supply charge x 30 days) / (grid import tariff) / (30 days)
The consumption profile shape (the time of use shape of the load curve) used will be the Default consumption profile as set in your User Preferences. If there is no default consumption profile in User Settings, then ‘A typical home night air-con’ is used.
After selecting the Quick Quote option, you can always come back and adjust the electricity tariff, the average daily kWh usage and the consumption profile load curve.
Basic Tariff
Just enter the bill total, usage and feed-in tariff and supply charges. Then select a Retailer and Distributor and click Load as Current Tariff.
Tariff Library
To select an electricity tariff from the Tariff Library, click the Library tab in the Load New / Comparison Tariff section.
You can then search from the many pre-set tariffs loaded into SolarPlus, and select tariffs you have created previously and saved to your library.
If you can’t find the exact one you’re after, try the Generic Tariffs. In the Retailer section, select Generic, and for Distributor: Generic / the distributor for the area. You will then see a list of typical tariffs that are already set up with the Time of Use periods for that distributor.
When you have found a suitable tariff, click Load as Current Tariff.
Recommending another tariff / Comparison tariff
If you’d like to specify a tariff that the customer should switch to when they install solar and/or batteries, you can set it at the Recommended Tariff.
First load their current tariff
Next load the recommended tariff.
The modelling of the proposed energy system will use the Recommended Tariff to calculate their future energy bills.
Creating custom tariffs and saving to tariff library
To create a tariff from scratch, switch to the Custom tab in the Load New / Comparison Tariff section
Select the tariff structure
Fill in all the necessary energy tariff details (tariff amount, TOU periods, solar feed-in, TOU hours, supply charges, etc.)
Set a unique tariff name in the “Name of profile” field when saving to the tariff library to easily identify it
Select the option “Save to tariff library” on the top-right corner of the page to save the tariff for future use
Tiered Tariffs
Some electricity plans have different rates according to how much energy a customer uses. For example, 30c/kWh for the first 10kWh in the day, then 32c/kWh for additional energy.
To add tiers, simply click the “+ Add New Tier” button on the right side:
A new box field will appear under the period name, allowing you to set the tier summing period, which is required. The options for the tier summing periods are:
Day
Month
Quarter
Year
A new input field appears on the left of the tariff rate, which allows you to input the maximum usage for the selected tier/rate.
It is important to note that the maximum usage of the last tier should remain blank (not zero).
Seasonal Tariffs
Get more accurate, and often better, RoI for customers on a seasonal tariff by specifying the electricity rates that apply at different times of the year.
Start by selecting a typical seasonal tariff from the Library
Retailer = Generic
Distributor = Select your Distributor
Plan = Select seasonal tariff
Alternatively, open an existing tariff and select the Seasons Box.
Load the seasons applicable to your region. Each Distributor classifies Seasons differently. Our database has a record of the months which apply to each season, as classified by the particular distributor.
Complex Tariffs with Demand and Network Charges
There is no “one size fits all” billing template. Some charges may be reflected in different terms, depending on the retailer. So regardless of where you are, we recommend tackling complex electricity bills using this method:
1. Identify all of the units of measure used on the bill
Group any charges with the same unit of measure together. These are:
/day
/kWh
/kWh rates that apply only at certain times
/kWh rates that apply to all energy used
/kW, or /kVA (demand charges)
/month or /quarter or /bill
2. Select a Preset Tariff with a similar structure
Select: Retailer = Generic, Wholesaler = either Generic, or try the actually electricity wholesaler / lines company
Click to Select Tariff Plan
Select a closely matching option from the list.
This will give you a good starting point. Check that the Peak, Off-peak and Shoulder times are accurate. The times of use for these generic tariffs have been taken from Distributor websites and this site: https://wattever.com.au/time-of-use-periods-electricity-network/ however they may change for different retailers, or change over time.
3. Enter the charges into the Tariff Editor
Click the pencil icon to edit the tariff
Check you are using the correct unit ($ or cents)
If a bill does not contain any of these charges, simply leave the field blank.
Understanding different electricity charges
Daily Supply Charge
Enter any charges that are applied per day. If there are multiple daily charges, add them together and enter the total.
Usage Discount
Usually only applied to Residential customers. This is a % discount that is applied to the kWh energy charges. It is not applied to demand or daily charges.
Controlled Load
This is the rate charged for Controlled Load energy usage. This is most commonly for controlled off-peak storage hot water services that are metered separately and turned on and off by the network operator.
Demand Tariff Rate
This is applied to the single highest peak demand of the billing period. Ie if the billing period is monthly, and the metering period is half-hourly, then the demand charge for that bill will be the demand tariff rate multiplied by the largest half-hourly kW/kVA consumption value for that month.
Demand Unit
Demand tariffs are charged in either kW or kVA - it will be specified on the bill.
Min. threshold for Demand Tariff
Some demand tariffs do not apply to the whole amount of the largest consumption value. Some retailers will only charge users what they use in excess of a minimum threshold. You can specify this minimum threshold in this field. The demand charge is then = peak kW/kVA for the billing period - Min. Threshold for Demand Tariff x Demand Tariff Rate.
Fixed Charges
Use this field for any charges that are applied per bill. Eg if the customer is billed monthly, any charges that are applied per month. This may be meter charges, admin fees, etc.
Annual Capacity Charge.
a) based on calculation: This is a charge based on the highest recorded maximum demand for the full year. Charges are calculated in c/kVA/[billing period]. If these are listed as a daily charge, and the client is billed monthly, then multiply the charge by 30days.
b) if the Capacity charge is based on a figure specified by the client/network and charged at $/kVA/pa and billed monthly, then the charge is best added as a Fixed charge instead.
Historic Capacity Basis
This field no longer in use. The value is taken from the consumption profile.
Additional Energy Charges
These are miscellaneous charges applied to all energy used, regardless of the time of use. They may be government levies (AEMO charges etc). You can use The Calculator on the right to add multiple additional charges together and apply any relevant Loss Factors.
Time of Use Charges
For each Period (Peak, off-peak, etc) Enter the tariff rates per kWh and any kWh network charges and feed-in tariffs applicable.
If the customer does not yet have any solar, then it is unlikely that the Feed-in tariff rate will be published on the bill. Enter the tariff they will receive after solar is installed.
Loss factor
Some bills apply loss factors to either the kWh consumption, or the tariff rate. If applied to the tariff rate (Australia), please multiple the tariff by the loss factor. You can use the in-app calculator. If there are multiple loss factors, multiply both by the tariff. Eg $0.11 x MLF 1.012 x DLF 1.00003
Some bills show the loss of energy in kWh instead of the loss factor. In those cases, you can choose to go with one of these options:
Calculate the loss factor. Take the example below:
Bill rates for the month of October:
Calculate the loss factors using the energy values and adjust the rates to account for the losses:
Then, enter the adjusted rates in SolarPlus instead of the actual bill rates.
OR
Enter the consumption data so that energy losses are added to the actual consumption. So, in the example above, for the month of October, set the monthly consumption equal to the sum of all “energy” kWh values + the sum of all “energy losses” kWh values. In this case, the total will be 101002.75 kWh + 5171.33 kWh (losses) = 106174.08 kWh. This value can be entered in the “customize energy profile” > monthly totals - section of the Energy page.
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