Jules writes:
... ours is on off-peak so gets 6c/kWh, but I can't remember the wattage
on the heater for ours either (and it normally runs for about an hour for
a full load)

It's amazing (to me) that our cost is almost 3x as high.
The total cost per kwh (including tax, generation, transmission, fees)
is a whopping 17.7 cent/kwh without any possibility of off-peak.

It's hard to believe that the "free market" price (in the absense of
governmental regulation) would be 3x as large particularly given that
electricity is:
- An almost pure commodity (a volt is a volt is a volt)
- Transportable (and relatively efficiently too with new power line
technology)
- Easily buyable/sellable
- Mature technology