Victorian government’s Premium Feed-In Tariff solar scheme expiring in November

Tens of thousands of Victorian homes with solar panels are about to have their generous feed-in tariff slashed. Here’s how it will hurt their hip pocket.

Tens of thousands of solar panel early adopters are about to lose their chunky feed-in tariffs with a government-funded sweetheart deal set to expire.

More than 84,000 homes on the Premium Feed-In Tariff (PFIT) scheme, introduced in 2009 to improve the uptake of solar panels, will have their feed-in payment of 60 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) slashed when the program comes to an end in November 1.

They will now be on industry tariffs which range between 11.3 cents and 3.9 cents per kWh.

The flat rate minimum feed-in tariff set by the Essential Services Commission, which applies regardless of the time of day or day of the week, is 3.3 cents per kilowatt hour.

Thousands of early solar adopters are about to loose their generous feed-in tariffs. Picture: Michael Desmyth

Homeowners have called on the government to extend the program saying that it continues to encourage Victorians to embrace rooftop solar.

However, the move is unlikely given the popularity of solar panels in recent years.

Other states such as New South Wales have also closed their feed-in tariff schemes.

A Victorian government spokesperson said the program had helped boost the number of Victorian homes with solar.

“PFITs successfully drove the early adoption of solar by Victorian households, helping to develop the solar industry, create jobs and reduce payback periods and power bills – installs increased from just 2,036 in 2008 to 60,214 in 2011.”

“Today over 700,000 Victorian Homes now enjoy the benefits of solar and are saving up to $1000 a year on their energy bills and we continue to help Victorians access solar savings through our Solar Homes program – applications for solar panel rebates have increased by 15 per cent from the last financial year.”

The PFIT program helped to boost the number of Victorians homes with solar.

Customers have been critical of the current feed-in tariff rates with the payments for leftover energy exported back into the grid dropping significantly despite record high electricity prices.

The program will also be axed at a time when Victoria is dropping behind other states in the solar race, lagging behind NSW and Queensland despite soaring energy bills where more than a million property owners have installed a renewable energy system.

Victoria is also outpaced by South Australia in terms of the highest number of solar panels per household.

The state government will continue to run its solar rebate programs.

This includes rebates of up to $1,400 for panels and the option of an interest-free loan to pay for them.

Originally published as Victorian government’s Premium Feed-In Tariff solar scheme expiring in November