Energy Policy

Ms LUETHEN (King) (14:23): My question is for the Minister for Energy and Mining.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for West Torrens is warned for a second and final time.

Ms LUETHEN: Can the Minister for Energy and Mining please update the house on the progress of this government's energy solution from the past 12 months?

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart—Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:24): Thank you to the member for King—

Mr Brown interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for Playford is warned for a second and final time.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: —who, on behalf of her constituents, is extremely active with regard to a whole range of matters, but certainly in engaging with my office with regard to energy. She is a fantastic advocate for the people—

Mr Pederick: Yes, they don't like it because we keep the lights on.

The SPEAKER: The member for Hammond is on two warnings.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: —of the north-eastern suburbs. This is a very good question and guess what? There is a very good answer.

Mr Malinauskas: Less public transport.

The SPEAKER: The Leader of the Opposition can leave for 10 minutes.

The honourable member for Croydon having withdrawn from the chamber:

The SPEAKER: Thank you. Cool down.

The Hon. V.A. Chapman: Atkinson would have named him.

The SPEAKER: Atkinson is not here. The minister has the call.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! Members on my right will be following. Minister.

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Thank you, Speaker. The first thing to say is that what we have done in the first 12 months is exactly what we said we would do in the first 12 months. We put together a very comprehensive energy policy to address the very serious problems that we knew we would inherit. We announced that on 10 October 2017. It was very clearly articulated, extremely well received by everybody except those opposite, and we are delivering on that policy.

One of the first things we did was make a decision to retain the Tesla virtual power plant program. Most people thought that we would just exclude it, be petulant and get rid of it. We assessed that as being in the best interests of people in South Australia.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: We decided that we would not be petulant the way the Labor Party would have been. We both took a household battery program to the election. Everybody assumed that whoever was successful would do theirs and theirs only. I'm sure that's what those opposite would have done. We decided that in the best interests of South Australians we would do both. So we are rolling out the largest, on a per capita basis, home battery scheme anywhere in the world, and we will deliver 90,000 batteries to low-income people in Housing SA properties all the way through to people in larger homes with larger electricity demands. It is going to be a fantastic program.

From the home battery scheme perspective, we have 1,200 homes signed up already and the uptake is growing all the time. On the virtual power plant side of things, by 30 June this year we will have 1,100 Housing SA homes, so people on lower incomes getting these benefits. Of course, we have the grid-scale storage scheme—$50 million—and we hope to announce that in June. All the tenders are in. We received 52 or 53 tenders that the department is currently working its way through. Just like the Home Battery Scheme, that will support all electricity consumers in South Australia.

The interconnector: we have a very clear and positive plan for the interconnector which we articulated well in advance of the election. Since then, commentator after commentator has come in in support of that, understanding that not only will it provide backup electricity into South Australia when it's built but, equally as importantly, it will provide export opportunities for our often overabundant renewable electricity. We will export more to New South Wales than we will import through this interconnector.

We already have $11 million out for tender for distributed demand response programs that will help give consumers the tools that they need so that they can commercially benefit from helping themselves with their own demand management opportunities. We have much more coming in our energy plan. We will make electricity more affordable, more reliable and cleaner in South Australia.