The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has made a final decision on solar feed in tariff rates in New South Wales.
The “benchmark range”, i.e. voluntary retailer contribution, will be 5.5 to 7.2 cents per kilowatt hour in 2016-17.
“This is due to an increase in the outlook for wholesale electricity prices,” states IPART. “Since our final decision in October last year, ASX forward prices for wholesale electricity have increased by around 19%.”
Last year’s benchmark range was 4.7 to 6.1 c/kWh.
While the lift in solar feed in tariff range is better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, some would argue it doesn’t reflect the true value of solar electricity exported to the mains grid from the hundreds of thousands of residential installations in the state.
Below is the IPART breakdown of value and notes on the calculations can be viewed here (PDF).
IPART Chairman Dr Peter Boxall has advised solar owners to shop around electricity retailers for the best deal.
“Feed-in tariffs are only one component of a retailer’s market offer and the retailer with the highest feed-in tariff may not provide the best deal overall,” he said.
Given the reasonably low increase and the voluntary nature of the electricity retailer contribution, residential solar energy storage continues to be very attractive; enabling solar power system owners the ability to make better use of their high value self-generated electricity.
Home battery systems may be even more attractive to the 146,000 NSW households participating in the Solar Bonus Scheme; which closed to new participants in early 2011.
Under the Scheme, participants receive either 20c or 60c per kilowatt hour for all electricity generated by their solar panels. However, that arrangement ends this year and there could be major electricity bill shocks in store for these households due to various factors.
According to Energy Matters, the change could cost participants as much as $2,400 annually if suitable action isn’t taken soon.
Energy Matters recently released a guide that can assist Solar Bonus Scheme participants in minimizing the impact of the change in solar feed in tariffs. The company has also launched a NSW feed in tariff calculator that estimates financial impact and makes recommendations to reduce it.
Energy Matters is currently offering New South Wales solar owners special deals on system upgrades and battery storage solutions including Tesla Powerwall, Enphase AC Battery and Fronius Solar Battery.
According to the company, installing batteries can reduce mains grid electricity consumption by up to 80%; depending on various factors. A solar + battery calculator recently made available by Energy Matters can be used to estimate energy independence.
