Local generation, storage & management of solar power is the way to go. State governments & local councils could be leading this.
Until then - why not use a wholesale provider like #Amber? Customers pay a monthly connection fee plus a subscription fee of $19, then buy & sell power at market rates. Households with solar systems have their output curtailed when feed in tariffs are negative (as happens often), export solar power when prices are positive, & if they choose to, export from battery when prices are high. You can allow the system to automate the process or you can control it yourself. This is cost effective for households that have a battery, although those with panels only may see no financial benefit compared to standard retail plans (it’s very difficult to compare relative costs of a curtailed system with those from the same system operating without curtailment, so wholesale plans don’t appear on cost comparison sites). For households with no solar, if you’re able to shift most of your usage to times when there’s lots of solar in the grid, costs are Way Way Cheaper. We did this before we had solar installed & the difference was Huge. If you need to cook dinner every evening or like to heat your house a lot, savings are not so much.
Whatever our situation, buying electricity #wholesale makes it immediately easy to see where our power is coming from & to make informed choices. It allow allows us to support the grid, & our neighbours.
#Subsidies to support households installing #batteries to back up new or existing systems, along with investment in local area generation & storage, would lower power costs for everyone while protecting the grid.
Why are we not doing this? Anyone?
Whose interests are served by keeping debate focused elsewhere?
#YeahRight #politics #policy #power #solar #electricity #CostOfLiving #AusPol
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-18/solar-households-hand-over-excess-power-to-virtual-power-plants/104827052?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=other
