Couple puts heat on Aurora’s cut to solar power feed-in tariff

Tasmanians who invested in solar for their homes feel dudded by the dramatic cut in Aurora’s feed-in tariff.

Col and Beth Muller are not happy with Aurora’s cut to the solar feed-in tariff. Picture: ROGER LOVELL

TASMANIANS who invested in solar power for their homes feel dudded by the dramatic cut in Aurora’s feed-in tariff.

Glenorchy residents Beth and Col Muller invested $6000 in a solar power system in 2011 to provide the air conditioning Mrs Muller needs to battle the heat sensitivity associated with multiple sclerosis. They upgraded their system in 2013.

Almost 30,000 Tasmanians have solar installed at their homes.

About half installed them before September 2013 and have seen the tariff paid for excess electrcity being fed back into the grid drop from 28 cents a kilowatt hour to 8.5c/kWh since January 1.

The State Government is providing a 5c/kWh top-up for one year, but those who invested early are still frustrated that the tariff rate is less than half of what it was.

The change will see the couple’s budgeted income drop by $600 a year.

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Aurora’s solar poser feed-in tariff dropped from 28c/kWh to 8.5c/kWh on January 1. Picture: ISTOCK

The Mullers have contacted Tasmanian politicians urging them to apply pressure to Aurora Energy to reverse the decision.

“The return on our investment back in 2013 was 13.7 per cent – now it is just over 4 per cent. We are looking at investing in a battery and no longer feed power into the grid,” Mrs Muller said.

“Our investment was not only in our home and comfort but in Aurora and Tasmania. It is not as if Aurora is making a loss.

“The power that my solar panels generate and feeds into the system is the cheapest power to which Aurora has access. It has had no outlay for the panels or their maintenance.”

On its website, the Department of State Growth says the generous tariffs paid in the early years of solar did not relate to the underlying value of the energy produced and the systems themselves were much more expensive than today.

It says installations in Tasmania have continued at a healthy pace — about 2000 a year — despite the falling tariffs.

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Jack Gilding, from the Tasmanian Renewable Energy Alliance, said those with solar panels could protest against the lack of incentives by using the electricity they generate.

“The big message is solar power is still a good investment especially if households use the power themselves rather than exporting into the grid,” Mr Gilding said.

“Of course it depends on your lifetsyle and can be complicated to work out. But basically it is knowing when you are exporting and when you are importing and using power accordingly.”