Energy policy
Gaelle BROAD (Northern Victoria) (18:39): (1754) My adjournment matter is to the Minister for Energy and Resources, following New South Wales’s and South Australia’s decisions to introduce a so-called sun tax, a charge on households with rooftop solar panels for exporting excess electricity back to the grid. By way of background, the sun tax refers to a two-way rooftop solar export tariff, whereby households with solar panels are charged for exporting electricity during peak solar generation hours, typically between 10 am and 3 pm when the grid is overloaded, and may receive lower or no feed-in credits. This policy shift was authorised by the Australian Energy Market Commission and has begun rolling out in jurisdictions connected to the national electricity market. The New South Wales government has now introduced mandatory export tariffs, which will see solar households charged per kilowatt hour during the middle of the day, between 10 and 3, once a free threshold is exceeded. There are some incentives being offered for exports during peak demand periods. However, many solar owners are concerned that this marks the start of a broader move to penalise families who invested in renewable energy to reduce both their power bills and emissions. The New South Wales changes came into effect on 1 July this year. South Australia also introduced a sun tax in July this year.
In Victoria residents have embraced rooftop solar in record numbers in recent years. Many of these systems were installed in good faith, with the expectation that excess energy exported to the grid would be rewarded, not taxed. I have heard from residents who are very concerned about additional cost burdens on their households during a cost-of-living crisis. Some recent reports suggest the government will not consider introducing such a tax before July 2031, and I ask the minister to clarify these reports and advise if another new tax is being considered by the Allan Labor government.