SwitchedOn podcast: Are solar households shifting electricity costs onto everyone else?

Rooftop solar, home batteries and smart technology are transforming Australia’s electricity system, hollowing out demand during the middle of the day and helping many households slash their power bills.

But a controversial draft review from the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has sparked debate about whether electricity pricing is shifting costs onto people who’ve invested in consumer energy resources, or alternatively, those who can least afford them.

Gavin Dufty, the national director of energy policy and research at the St Vincent de Paul society, draws on years of data from the Vinnies Tariff Tracker project to show what households actually pay for electricity across the country.

Dufty argues the current system may be creating new inequities between households able to invest in solar and smart technology and those who cannot, including renters and low-income households.

At the centre of the debate is a difficult policy question: should electricity pricing reward households that reduce their reliance on the grid, or should everyone pay more to simply stay connected? The outcome of the AEMC’s review could shape how the costs of Australia’s energy transition are shared.