The lowdown on new solar tariffs
Solar owners…
You may have heard that last week the regulator announced new pricing structures which will affect how solar properties are charged or incentivised to export solar to the grid.
In May 2024 the Australian Energy Regulator made the latest in a series of rolling of approvals for new pricing structures for electricity distributors. NSW, ACT, NSW and VIC will slowly implement them over the next year or so. The changes will affect solar properties and how they are charged or incentivised to export excess solar to the grid.
Here’s what our distributor, Endeavour Energy, is looking to do:
Existing customers can opt in to new tariffs from 1 July 2024. From 1 July 2025, new customers will be on these tariffs. From 2029, everyone will be.
Between 10am-2pm, 2kW of solar can be exported to the grid for free. Anything beyond that will incur a charge.
Between 4pm-8pm solar exported to the grid will be rewarded. This effectively is for those with batteries.
Read more from Endeavour Energy
Our take
Having more solar on the grid has been a huge benefit to our energy prices and our climate goals, slashing the wholesale rate of electricity during the day. Retrospective tariffs aren’t the way to support our future energy system, and this is not the approach we support. These tariffs are not symmetrical and fair (ie the export reward between 4-9pm does not match the import tariff), nor do they consider other options (eg. dynamic operating envelopes - flexible systems) and they potentially could act as a deterrent to potential solar owners at a time when we need more people embracing solar.
However, even if you have solar or are thinking about getting it, you’ll still be in front - especially if you can use as much energy as possible during the daytime. Think: using timers for your hot water, dishwasher, washing machine, dryers and EV chargers. Also maybe now is the time to invest in a home battery. The prices are already falling and now there’s a market incentive to export excess solar from your battery to the grid.
After researching the options, 2515 local Elsa recently installed a hot water timer switch to heat water during peak sunlight hours: “Given we only installed a solar system and a large electric hot water system a few years ago, it seemed like the best option to soak up as much of our solar as possible.”
Depending on your energy provider, there are also different billing options available. Check with your retailer to find out what suits your needs best.
