Good News for South Australian households who are making or having made the switch to solar power; they will be receiving more for the surplus electricity they generate.
South Australia's solar feed in tariff is comprised of two components; the distributor (ETSA Utilities) contribution, plus a minimum electricity retailer contribution.
The latter component has been increased. The additional premium will be called the FiT Premium. It has been determined by the Essential Services Commission of South Australia (ESCOSA) and is as follows:
- 27 January 2012 to 30 June 2012 - 7.1c per kilowatt hour
- 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013 - 9.8c per kilowatt hour
- 1 July 2013 to 30 June 2014 - 11.2c per kilowatt hour
- 30 June 2014 onwards to be determined
Households that joined the state's solar feed in tariff program before October 31 last year also receive 44c per kilowatt hour from ETSA Utilities. Households joining after that date receive an additional 16c per kilowatt hour until 30 September 2016.
ESCOSA says the FiT Premium, reflects the "fair and reasonable" value of fed-in electricity to electricity retailers. Every electricity retailer will be required to provide at least this minimum FiT Premium to solar customers, but they may also choose to offer a higher amount.
Thanks to the state's feed in tariff, thousands of South Australian households are now reducing their power bills. According to data from national solar solutions provider Energy Matters and even before the recently announced increases are taken into account, a 1.5kW solar panel array installed in Adelaide can offer electricity bill savings of up to $700 a year.
With solar panels and associated equipment dramatically dropping in price during recent times, you can now choose to buy larger solar power systems as system payback time is now just a few years. However, the Solar Credits rebate will be further reduced soon, which may see system prices increase.
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