Households and businesses banking on the removal of the carbon price to provide significant power bill relief may be disappointed.
Some are hoping electricity costs to decrease by as much as 9%; but power prices dropping substantially as a result of removing the carbon tax are said to be “unrealistic”.
According to an article on The Age, weaker wholesale electricity prices combined with continued increases in distribution charges could chew into any potential price decline.
It seems residents of NSW will also be feeling more power-point related pocket pain soon too; with electricity distributors to increase domestic supply charges by as much as 2.5 per cent from July. The major culprit – as it has so often been in the past – is network costs; the “poles and wires” aspect.
New South Wales power prices increased by as much as 64 per cent between 2009 and 2013.
In Victoria, prices are expected to rise at 1.3 per cent annually on average over the next 3 years.
While nothing like the increases of recent years; the news may be the proverbial straw that triggers more households to acquire solar panel systems.
However, the outlook for system subsidies is uncertain.
Prime Minister Abbott has been continually talking down renewable energy ahead of a critical review of Australia’s Renewable Energy Target (RET).
In fact, it would appear Greg Hunt and Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane may be the only cabinet members left supporting the RET.
Actions resulting from recommendations in the RET review could have a negative impact on the nature and amount of support available for home solar power systems – so the best time to go solar may well be now.
Any change to the RET could also have a major impact on solar jobs in Australia.
