The Clean Energy Council has called for a regulatory crackdown on Australia’s poles and wires companies before the introduction of new solar rules for households.
Wide-ranging restrictions mean network companies can no longer prevent solar households feeding energy to the grid.
The Australian Energy Markets Commission has promised its “tough new obligations” will mean network companies are held accountable for making the grid solar and battery friendly.
Australia has the fastest rate of solar take-up in the world and almost one in four Australian homes have rooftop solar installed.
But the Clean Energy Council’s Darren Gladman has told AAP poles and wires firms should be held to account before the rules come into play.
Mr Gladman says the policing of crucial network settings such as voltage varies between states and territories, with some states “asleep at the wheel”.
“It’s a dog’s breakfast, it’s a patchwork quilt of different regulations across the country,” he said.
Voltage settings on the local electrical network are important for households with rooftop solar because if the voltage is too high, their solar systems can’t feed extra energy into the grid.
Mr Gladman fears the new rules could see customers paying for voltage problems that are decades old to be fixed up.
“It’s hard to see how the regulator will decide on how much to blame solar for voltage issues and how much blame the networks.”
But Tamatha Smith from poles and wires peak body Energy Networks Australia said networks are already well regulated via the east coast’s National Electricity Market.
“Voltage standards are typically overseen by state-based regulators, reflecting the unique networks in each state, and state government priorities,” she told AAP in a statement.
She said the recent rule changes will help networks accommodate new technologies in a way that minimises impact on other customers.
“Networks give the highest priority to operating their systems to deliver safe, reliable and secure outcomes for all Australians,” she said.
The new regime for rooftop solar will come with different pricing plans to encourage solar households to export at times when demand is high – a scheme some advocates have labelled a “sun tax”.
The changes are part of a rule set issued by the AEMC that seeks to deal with the large amounts of solar energy flowing into the system and pave the way for household batteries and electric vehicles.
AAP
