Solar households not getting fair deal from retailers: ATA

The Alternative Technology Association has called for greater scrutiny of electricity retailers’ solar offers, and greater transparency surrounding solar electricity, after a new report found that many Australian households with rooftop solar could be in danger of being “ripped off” unless they shopped around for the best deal.

The report – Retail Offers and Market Transparency for New Solar Customers, commissioned by ATA
– analysed all aspects of various retail offers to new solar customers and what effects they would have on annual power bills in South Australia, NSW, Victoria and Queensland.

It found a lack of detailed information for solar customers, creating the potential for people to miss out on the best rates for their solar power. It also found enormous differences in retail companies’ offers for household solar electricity – the difference between the best and worst offers could be up to $300 a year, even within the same jurisdiction.

This table highlights the percentage differences between the best and worst offers in each state:

Damien Moyse, the ATA’s energy projects and policy manager, said there needed to be greater scrutiny of electricity retailers’ solar offers and greater transparency so that consumers could make more informed decisions.

“There’s been a lot of attention and publicity about feed-in tariffs for solar, but very little about retail consumption tariffs and other aspects of retail deals, including where retailers take away pay-on-time discounts when someone installs solar,” Mr Moyse said.

“Solar customers could be losing out badly depending on what deal they have signed for the electricity they produce.

“Retailers are treating solar customers differently from non-solar customers for no specific reason, and this is something that should be closely looked at by relevant Energy Market Regulators and potentially the ACCC.”

Moyse said it was crucial that people thinking of having solar panels installed on their roof shopped around for the best deal, and understood in full how their retail electricity offer could change when installing solar.

“Existing and potential solar customers should check relevant tariff comparator websites in each state, which compare different retail offers, and ask retailers lots of questions about exactly what is and isn’t included with their retail solar deals.”