House of Assembly Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1) 54 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Home Battery Scheme Home Battery Scheme Mr PATTERSON House of Assembly Morphett Home Battery Scheme Mr PATTERSON (Morphett) (14:32): My question is to the Minister for Energy and Mining. Can the minister update the house on the state government's plans to help South Australians access more affordable and reliable energy through its Home Battery Scheme? The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN House of Assembly Stuart Minister for Energy and Mining Home Battery Scheme The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart—Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:32): Yes, I can. Again, I thank the member for Morphett, who has a very genuine interest not only in this topic but also in his constituents receiving cheaper electricity under the new Marshall Liberal government. We announced before the election that, if elected, we would deliver subsidies—$2,500 on average for 40,000 homes over four years—to help them purchase batteries for their houses to go with solar panels so that they can reduce their electricity costs. We have delivered on that. We announced very recently that in fact not only will it be $2,500 on average for 40,000 households but that some households will be able to get up to a $6,000 subsidy towards the purchase of a household battery. This will be very important for those households so that they can manage their electricity consumption and supply, so that they can work on their own premises to their own benefit, so that they can reduce their costs— The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN House of Assembly The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: Point of order, Mr Speaker. The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Point of order. The minister will be seated for one moment. The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN House of Assembly The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN: As loath as I am to raise a point of order against the Minister for Energy, all of this information is currently published on his own website and has been the subject of a media release last week. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order! If the member for Lee can furnish me with the page in reference, I will have a look at it and ensure that the minister is providing information other than that already in the public forum. The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN House of Assembly The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Mr Speaker, I can assure you that I didn't memorise the release. This is very important information, and if the opposition is not interested in how households across the state can get cheaper electricity then no wonder they are the opposition. Members interjecting: The Speaker House of Assembly The SPEAKER: Order, members on my left! The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN House of Assembly The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: What we did with the support of very, very capable people in the newly formed Department for Energy and Mining was create the subsidy so that the subsidy level per household increased with the size of the battery. We also offered a higher subsidy for low-income families, understanding that this is taxpayers' money being used to help households purchase these batteries. We want households on lower incomes—and we have defined them as people who hold an energy concession already—to be able to have greater support to meet the cost of the battery. We have also capped it at $6,000. That means that households can receive the subsidy for up to a 10, 11 or 12 kilowatt hour capacity battery before they actually hit the cap. This is a very sensible use of taxpayers' money. But the most important thing about this is that on the one hand the households that invest in these batteries will get a very clear benefit for themselves, of course—and we want them to have that—but more importantly, far more importantly, by connecting peak generation from solar early afternoon with peak electricity demand early evening for 40,000 plus households we will take the top off peak demand statewide early evening. You only have to take a thin sliver off the top of peak electricity demand to actually have a very significant impact on the wholesale price across the state. That is why this program is so important—because not only the people who make the investment and who have the capacity to purchase the battery will benefit but all other South Australian electricity consumers will benefit as well by having these 40,000 plus with solar and batteries and reducing the wholesale price which then, 12 months after that, flows through to all other electricity consumers. We are on the side of electricity consumers across the state, from the smallest households to the largest employers.