Minimum price for SA solar proposed

The Clean Energy Council (CEC) has welcomed a recommendation to set a minimum price in South Australia for solar energy generated by households.

Clean Energy Council Policy Director Russell Marsh said the draft price determination released by the Essential Services Commission of South Australia (ESCoSA) would go some way towards protecting consumers who were investing their money in good faith to take the sting out of their rising power bills.

“South Australians investing in solar power systems deserve to be paid a fair value for the clean energy they provide to the power grid,” Marsh said.

“While ESCoSA’s recommended minimum price for solar doesn’t fully do this, the proposal by some electricity retailers to take away this minimum altogether had raised major concerns for consumer and industry groups. It could have been much worse.

“The level of the solar feed-in tariff has been reduced slightly, which is an attempt by ESCoSA to test the strength of competition in the market. We suggest new solar customers shop around to get the best deal.”

Marsh said the decision to retain a minimum price for solar was something the industry had argued strongly for.

“We are extremely pleased to have the industry’s concerns acknowledged by the head of ESCoSA. Introducing a mandatory minimum price will help to ensure a fair go for solar customers,” Marsh said.

The draft determination by ESCoSA proposes setting a minimum value of 7.6 cents per kilowatt-hour for the electricity from solar panels paid by electricity retailers.