Subsidies not the solution to the failing energy transition

The editorial “Poor to subsidise rich on household battery scheme” (7/4) points out the inherent problems with Labor’s proposal to subsidise household batteries. Another inequitable and costly Band-Aid is an admission of Labor’s failure to reduce the costs of generating electricity and provide a stable and reliable grid.

Subsidies are not the solution to the failing energy transition. Supplying electricity is an essential service. Governments should be accountable for ensuring the lights stay on and providing reliable and affordable power all day, every day.

Under this proposal, across time, governments will wash their hands of system-wide responsibility, transferring costs and supply issues to household by household.

Far from ameliorating the cost-of-living crisis, future fire risks will lead to increased costs of household insurance premiums.

More than 130,000 households were on energy hardship plans last June with growing queues in energy poverty. The trajectory with weather-dependent and intermittent renewables ensures power prices will keep going through the roof, with further taxpayer-funded relief the only tangible response.

Once again, Labor’s policies will hurt those whose interests the party is meant to represent.

Jennie George, Mollymook, NSW

It seems hard to believe the Coalition can’t see the path to electoral victory – all costs associated with the renewables-only transition to net zero proposed by Labor have not been disclosed and no mention has been made of the two items that will ensure electricity prices never fall under them.

The enormous cost of new transmission lines will be borne entirely by consumers, and by 2050 all current solar panels, wind turbines and batteries will have been replaced. Who pays for this? What have we ended up with at the end of this transition?

We have an unreliable electricity grid without any baseload capacity and therefore incapable of supporting heavy industry. Additionally, this electricity will be expensive, ensuring that many industries will move offshore.

But there is a fossil-free alternative for baseload power supply and that is nuclear energy. Nuclear power plants installed when coal-fired plants are retired will use the existing transmission network, massively reducing costs and environmental impacts. While the cost of these nuclear plants will be considerable, we will have avoided much of the cost of new power lines and their associated impacts and the cost of introducing or replacing some renewables. The resulting grid will supply baseload power and be on tap 24/7.

This is the energy policy that Australians need and will endorse if given the chance.

Peter Cornish, Neutral Bay, NSW

The latest Labor handout is yet another thought bubble that defies logic. A battery that will apparently save a household $1100 a year on its power bill but will cost about $9000 upfront for the householder and have a lifespan of only around 10 years is not a saving at all.

Yet to be stated with any of these spending announcements Labor has made since January is where the money is coming from. Is it going on the national credit card to be repaid by future generations or will a Labor government increase taxes, just as it has done in Victoria?

The media is letting Labor off the hook over its spending promises. With less than a month of the campaign to go, the hard questions need to be asked.

Mary Hackshaw, Northwood, Vic

Labor’s new battery subsidy scheme will save households thousands of dollars on energy costs every year. It also will lower power prices for all customers by reducing wholesale electricity prices at times of peak demand.

With a home battery and rooftop solar system, our power bills are negligible or in credit. Most days we draw minimal or no electricity from the grid. This is particularly so on hot days where the battery is quickly fully charged and our excess electricity goes into the grid for others to use. We try to maximise our use of electrical appliances during times of peak solar generation.

An extension of the scheme also would enable households without solar to benefit from home battery storage: they could charge their battery from the grid during the day, when plentiful solar power keeps prices low, then draw from their battery at night. This would give all households immediate and long-lasting relief from cost-of-living pressures.

Julia Croatto, Kew, Vic