New South Wales Premier Barry O’Farrell and Energy Minister Chris Hartcher have announced provisions would be put in place for solar households in NSW with “genuine hardship cases” resulting from the NSW Government’s changes to the Solar Bonus Scheme.
While quick to criticise the previous government in a media release; the NSW government has acknowledged its handling of the closing of the Solar Bonus Scheme; in particular its decision to implement retrospective legislation to slash the feed in tariff rate for some program participants, would result in “some people facing financial problems”.
What constitutes hardship is not clear as yet, but Mr. Farrell said his government wants to ensure people are able to recoup the money they put into purchasing solar power systems as well as installation and connection costs.
Mr Hartcher said discussions would begin immediately with relevant groups to thrash out an “appropriate hardship package.”
According to national solar solutions provider Energy Matters‘ CEO, Jeremy Rich; the “hardship” provisions are not enough.
“Premier O’Farrell’s unprecedented move will still penalise those who are helping to reduce Australia’s emissions and deliver peak power; which there will be a shortage of in New South Wales in 2015. If the NSW government succeeds in having the legislation passed with only this change, it will be incredibly damaging to investor confidence and the knock-on effects will set the Australian solar power industry back a couple of years.”
The NSW government’s decision to renege on its commitment to honour some existing Solar Bonus Scheme contracts met not only with anger from external forces, but from within its own party. Liberal MP Catherine Cusack sent a letter to Premier O’Farrell last week, reminding the Premier of a Coalition philosophy of “retrospective legislation to alter contracts is unprecedented and repugnant.”
Even with the hardship provisions, the legislation will still need to get past cross benchers in the NSW upper house who stated last week they would block the O’Farrell government’s proposed retrospective legislation.
An alliance of organisations including the Australian Solar Energy Society (AuSES) and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) have written to all members of the NSW Parliament outlining a solution to the current impasse and delivers the savings sought by the O’Farrell Government , while honouring the existing contracts with 40,000 affected NSW households.
