Federal Member for Indi Helen Haines said her home batteries policy, which was adopted by the Labor Government during the recent election campaign, would transform how households benefited from their rooftop solar and substantially reduce their annual energy bills.
“The scheme starts on July 1, but batteries can be purchased and installed now and be eligible for the subsidy in the new financial year,” Dr Haines said.
“I spent two years prosecuting this policy to the government, knowing the potential for households to substantially reduce their energy bills if we could increase their access to home batteries.
“I was thrilled when Labor committed to my policy so that home battery subsidies will be available to people across Indi and the nation to benefit from energy generated by their home solar to store and use during peak periods.
“Home batteries will deliver immediate bill relief for households and community groups, and over time we will see this benefit extend to all consumers by reducing overall pressure on the grid.
“Batteries allow households with solar to store energy generated by the sun, then use it at times when the sun isn’t shining, like at night-time. It can also help even out the amount of energy in the grid when household solar is producing more energy than the grid needs.”
Government modelling shows households could save $1100 every year on their power bill by adding a home battery to their solar energy system.
The Smart Energy Council has predicted $1.3 billion would be saved on wholesale power prices each year if one million batteries were installed in Australia, delivering benefit to all consumers.
Dr Haines said in addition to her home battery policy, she would extend her focus to micro-grids and community energy to help towns that experienced repeat power outages in extreme weather and at edge-of-grid.
“Regional, edge-of-grid towns deserve reliable and secure power supply and there are communities in Indi and across Australia that suffer from repeat outages,” she said.
“These communities have been firmly on my mind in developing policy for microgrids to help shore up their energy security.
“Microgrids are a tangible, practical way to respond to regional community needs to keep the lights on, and I will be pursuing this solution in this next term of parliament.”
