Power giant warns of ‘two-speed' green shift which benefits only the rich

Sydney Morning Herald

13 hours ago

Millions of Australians face being left behind in the race to greener energy, one of the nation's largest power distributors has warned, as renters miss out on huge savings from solar panels while homes without off-street parking cannot install electric vehicle chargers.
From this year, home-owners with solar panels stand to benefit from even bigger electricity bill cuts following the introduction of federal government rebates wiping thousands of dollars off the cost of installing batteries that can soak up their excess energy.
Increasing home battery uptake has many advantages: it will enable Australia to harness more of its world-leading per-person solar panel uptake to use after sunset, drive down greenhouse gas emissions and smooth out volatile price swings across the market.
But the household clean energy boom may create winners and losers, warns Ausgrid, the largest power distribution company on Australia's eastern seaboard. The company points to renters and lower-income Australians who are unable to make the switch and are forced to stay on increasingly expensive fossil fuel-based energy supplies.
'The problem we see is that if you don't own your own home, or have the financial wherewithal, you are faced with the full system cost of the transition,' said Rob Amphlett Lewis, Ausgrid's group executive of distributed services.
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'What we are in danger of is a two-speed transition that works for the 'haves' and is paid for by the 'have-nots'.'
Ausgrid and other Australian distribution network service providers are seeking to expand their reach beyond building and maintaining the network's poles and wires and into other future-facing functions where they believe they are well placed to deliver more efficient outcomes for consumers.
Their push, however, has opened a major new rift in the industry between network operators and a wide range of other electricity market participants, which are urging regulators against any waiver from 'ring-fencing' rules designed to prevent monopolies from encroaching on competitive markets, and argue it could drive up costs.