Ever wondered why your electricity bills keep climbing despite promises of cheap renewable energy? In this eye-opening conversation, energy data expert Tim Ryan pulls back the curtain on Australia's complex and often dysfunctional electricity market.

The revelation at the heart of this episode is startling: our energy market is deliberately designed to create price volatility, benefiting generators and retailers while leaving consumers to foot an ever-increasing bill. Tim explains how the market's bidding system means the last (and most expensive) generator sets the price for all electricity sold during that period – creating perverse incentives for price spikes that boost industry profits.

Most fascinating is Tim's explanation of how technology could revolutionise our relationship with electricity. Just 15-20% of consumers using smart systems to shift their energy use to low-price periods would create benefits for everyone. But retailers actively resist giving customers access to their own energy data or real-time price signals that would enable these savings.

Through clear examples – like how a South Australian hot water trial saw retailers pocket $480 per customer while passing just $63 in savings to homeowners – Tim illustrates how the current system is stacked against consumers. He advocates for what he calls "the consumer's grid," where data access, time-based pricing, and automated systems would let households and businesses use electricity when it's abundant and cheap.

Whether you're considering solar panels, wondering about the role of gas in our energy future, or simply tired of escalating power bills, this conversation offers crucial insights into how Australia's energy market really works – and how it could work better for all of us.