Home battery rebate changes could mean “price difference of thousands of dollars,” regulator warns

The regulator in charge of administrating the federal government’s Cheaper Home Batteries rebate has warned the industry to brace for the upcoming changes to the scheme, to avoid making promises about prices and installation dates that cannot be honoured.

In news bulletin published and sent to industry inboxes on Wednesday, the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) said it will be “keeping a close eye” on home battery retailers and installers as the rebate switches to new settings on the first day of May.

Federal energy minister Chris Bowen announced in December that the government would boost the rebate’s total budget to $7.2 billion, while also adjusting its settings to make it last longer and go further – including by gearing it towards much smaller systems.

The May 1 changes will see batteries sized up to 14 kilowatt-hours (kWh) continue to receive the full roughly 30% discount off the up-front cost of a storage system. Batteries sized between 14 kWh-28 kWh will get 60% of the discount, while batteries between 28 kWh and 50 kWh will get 15 per cent.

The message from the CER is that battery retailers should be familiarising themselves with the new policy settings and the impact they will have on the rebates that can be offered to consumers.

“The CER is reminding retailers that the installation discount under the new rebates could result in a price difference of thousands of dollars,” the regulator said on Wednesday.

The regulator is also warning that time is running out to sell customers a battery under the original rebate settings, given rebates are determined by the installation date and not when a contract is signed.

“Retailers should not be promising installations before 1 May unless they are certain the installations can be completed on time,” said CER executive general manager, Carl Binning.

“They need to be upfront with customers, schedule work responsibly, and explain the small-scale technology (STC) changes clearly, which could mean a significant price difference for customers.

“Safety is our number one priority – we inspect battery installations, and we will investigate and remove bad players from the program,” Binning says.

Binning says the CER is also writing to solar retailers reminding them of their obligations to customers.

“Check your quotes, ensure that they are not out of date, and communicate the price changes to customers,” he says.

“The advice to customers is to confirm that the installation will be possible and the price quoted will be honoured.

“We will be watching the industry carefully during these changes.

“Deceptive or misleading behaviour will not be tolerated and retailers who fail to comply with their obligations will be reported to fair trading bodies.”

The CER has an online calculator on its website to help estimate the number of STCs a solar battery installation may be eligible for based on the current STC factor and future adjustments.

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