https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-03/energy-retailers-offer-free-power-three-hours-dmo/105965472

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The catch: you need a smart meter.

Part of the liberal party mythology behind their crazy power policies is that we need baseload power. This is partly the result of "dumb meters" - electricity meters that only measure power used, not when you use it, like your water meter. But the spot price of electricity varies greatly during the day. So electricity wholesalers are put in a challenging position where the price of electricity could skyrocket due to a shortage, but all their retail customers carry on using electricity, oblivious to the high cost, and only paying the fixed price.

Smart meters are the next step up from having a separate "off peak" power meter for your hot water system.

Once retail customers are switched over to smart meters, the Liberal party belief that we "need" baseload power will vanish. Not so much because the economics fundamentally changes (though that will obviously help), but because people will start to see electricity as a commodity like any other, whose price depends on both supply and demand (like petrol, only more variable). They will see the advantage both in having long periods of very cheap electricity because renewables are so cheap, and in avoiding the use of power hungry appliances (if they need to save the money) when there is a shortage.

Great idea for air conditioning -
the middle of the day is when you need it most.

Baronvonrort wrote on Nov 16^th, 2025 at 5:39pm:



No - you can set your aircon on a timer to cool the place down for free
for 3 hours in the middle of the day with the aircon on maximum.
With good insulation it will still be cool when you come back home.
At least it won't be like an oven when you get home.

Great if you want the government to control your appliances and power usage for you.

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Nuclear is the most expensive energy option.

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That's not what a smart meter does.

Sir Grappler Truth Teller OAM wrote on Nov 16^th, 2025 at 10:01pm:


Great bonus, during the day when houses are getting free power from the sun they can also get free power.

If you use the free electricity during the day when your solar panels are producing its no gain except it is an incentive for people not to waste money on solar panels  and take advantage of free power when the panels would be supplying power.

Could you design a fridge/freezer combo to take advantage of this? One that makes a heap of ice when power is free, then uses the ice to cool the fridge for the rest of the day. Then just connect it to the smart meter so it knows when there is free power.

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Fridges are a delicate balance. Too cold and the stuff at the back freezes. Too hot and you poo yourself to death.