The state government says it will put safety first as it pays thousands of dollars to households to install solar-electric systems on their roofs, in a $1.2 billion election promise made on Sunday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Premier Daniel Andrews said up to 650,000 home owners across the state are expected to take advantage of the plan, which would see upfront costs of $4450 for a medium-sized solar system paid by the state government, allowing families to save up to $890 a year on their electricity bills.
Half the money would then be repaid, interest-free, to the government over a four-year period while the household benefited from lower power bills.
Families living in their own homes worth up to $3 million and with annual household incomes of less than $180,000 would be eligible for the payments, with the government saying 90 per cent of home owners in the state would be able to apply.
The state opposition was out of the blocks early on Sunday morning, predicting Labor’s plan would be like the federal government’s disastrous home insulation batts scheme, which was linked to three deaths.
But the Premier said Labor, if re-elected on November 24, would spend $9 million to make sure about 4500 electricians are safety-certified to work on the installations and that only products and equipment on the current approved list would be used.
“We know the cost of living is going up and it’s getting harder to make ends meet," Mr Andrews said.
"That’s why Labor is helping families with their energy bills.
"Only Labor will help put solar panels on your roof to cut your electricity bills by around
$900 a year.”
The Premier says the policy could bring the number of homes in Victoria with solar panels to 1 million within 10 years.
The scheme also has the ambitious target of cutting the state’s carbon emissions by almost 4 million tonnes and meeting 12.5 per cent of Victoria’s 40 per cent target for renewable energy by 2025.
But Liberals energy spokesman David Southwick said the policy was a badly thought-out attempt to capitalise on the federal government’s problems on energy policy.
Mr Southwick said there were too many losers from Labor’s policy, “apartment dwellers, renters, those on low incomes” and that he had serious concerns about how it could be implemented.
“This really is just a vote grab, a cost-of-living package for an election, not for a future,” Mr Southwick said.
“This is a very last-minute thought bubble to try to do something against what is happening in Canberra but there’s no real detail or plan around it.”
There were also doubts in the community sector on Sunday about the fairness of the policy.
St Vincent de Paul’s energy specialist Gavin Dufty said renters, apartment dwellers and other groups would not be eligible to get the government payments but would subsidise wealthier households through the generous solar feed-in tariffs.
“That means all the people who can’t participate in this scheme, they’ll end up underwriting this into perpetuity through the feed-in tariff,” Mr Dufty said.
“Not only can’t they play but they’ll keep on paying.”
The Victoria Greens welcomed the plan, with the party’s MP for Melbourne, Ellen Sandell, saying the announcement was “exciting” and giving “credit where credit is due”.
“It doesn’t change the fact that Labor have still extended the licences of our two most polluting coal plants, and are about to approve a monster gas terminal in Western Port, but it’s still really good to see action on renewables and lowering electricity bills,” Ms Sandell said.
