Energy bill relief plan to ease cost of living pressure

Rewiring Australia has welcomed the Permanent Energy Bill Relief Plan, announced by Allegra Spender MP, federal member for Wentworth.

The Permanent Energy Bill Relief Plan is said to provide tailored financial support to help households permanently reduce their energy bills.

The plan is also said to create a fairer energy system for all types of housing, through asset write-offs for rental properties to encourage the uptake of solar, batteries and energy performance improvements, as well as upgrades for low-cost housing by boosting the Social Housing Energy Performance Initiative.

“This is the kind of plan we want to see, one that supports households of all incomes, including the most vulnerable in our communities, by creating cheaper and cleaner energy,” Rewiring Australia Founder and Chief Scientist Dr Saul Griffith said.

“Creative ways, such as tax breaks for landlords to unlock savings for renters, which represent a significant amount of our homes in Australia is also a welcome part of this policy announcement.

“We are seeing from our own deployment projects that the switch from gas powered appliances and the uptake of solar is already happening on the ground, but policies like this would speed things up a lot.”

The Permanent Energy Bill Relief Plan is said to provide:

• 10-year zero interest loans, worth up to $25,000 each, to help more than 456,000 homeowners with energy upgrades like batteries, electric appliances and thermal shell upgrades
• an instant asset write-off to encourage installation of solar, batteries and energy performance improvements for 276,000 rental properties
• direct funding to support energy upgrades to over 70,000 social and community housing properties, through expanding the Social Housing Energy Performance Initiative.
   

“Climate has always been a key concern for my community and finding a permanent solution to energy costs is a national priority. Support for home electrification and energy upgrades is critical to both,” said Spender.

“My Permanent Energy Bill Relief Plan would reduce power bills for over 800,000 households, through financial support for rooftop solar, home batteries and energy-saving upgrades.

“It will also help stabilise our electricity grid and ensure reliable power for all Australians by accelerating the installation of nearly 300,000 home batteries over the next five years.”

Western Australia’s Government has also announced a plan to help double the number of home batteries to store renewable energy in homes. The $5000 rebate per household and interest-free loans of up to $10,000 will be on offer as part of the $387 million dollar battery package.

“It’s pleasing to see some meaningful action being taken to help homes upgrade energy systems to store their own energy,” Griffith said.

“We know from our work that people want to be able to store energy on their properties, and the hard work of groups, such as Electrify WA, have helped get the message across to decision makers.”

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