Monday was a good day for power bills.

Clive Palmer announced he would support repealing the carbon tax, with the government forecasting the measure would save households a reported $550 per year.

Meanwhile a report from the Grattan Institute found that some consumers are paying unnecessary fees to cover the demand from users who use large amounts of electricity.

If you like this then read …

• Power bills to fall: Palmer
• Your life just go more expensive here’s why
• Find the impostor products in your fridge

To meet these users’ needs, which affect the peak demand capacity, networks spent $17.6 billion and the costs of expansion were transferred to the consumers.

While that doesn’t sound like good news, it came with a suggestion – a ‘capacity-based charge’, which would levy higher fees on consumers who used more energy during peak periods.

“If prices had encouraged consumers to use less power in periods of peak demand, a $7.8 billion investment could have been avoided and the savings passed on as lower power bills,” the report said.

According to the report, 43 per cent of our energy bills go directly toward funding the network to meet the peak demand needs.

Energy costs rising and rising

Over the last five years the average Australian household has seen a 70 per cent rise in their energy bills from $970 to $1660.

The rise has been attributed to many things going on within and outside of Australia, such as rising fuel costs, increased population and increased need for more power.

For some consumers it may seem like a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” scenario, but that’s not the case.

The evidence of how being proactive and taking your energy use into your own hands was supported by what happened in Queensland recently, where electricity prices dropped to below $0 during the middle of the day.

Renew Energy said this happened as lower demand, coupled with the availability of 1.1 gigawatts of solar energy generation in the state allowed for prices to drop below zero, during what is normally considered a peak time.

What this shows is there is hope for consumers, if they take a number of measures that range from cheap to expensive 

How to save $$$ on your power bill

• Call your energy company and ask when the peak hours are and how you can reduce your needs
• See if there is information on how much energy you use during certain times
• Buy blankets to reduce heating needs in households during winter
• Insulate your house so it holds heat and cooling better, reducing the need for increased power
• Buy energy efficient light bulbs and household appliances that have an energy star rating
• When sleeping wear socks, jumpers and other objects to keep you warm
• Have reverse cycle fans during winter and summer to increase flow of air
• Buy air-conditioning units that have good energy star ratings. The same goes for heaters
• Put your heating or air-conditioning units on remote timers that turn off the system at certain intervals
• In 2015, you will also be able to have third party companies turn off your AC units for short periods of time to reduce stress on the network