Home Battery Scheme

Mr BASHAM (Finniss) (14:18): My question is to the Minister for Energy and Mining. Can the minister update the house on how the Marshall Liberal government is delivering cheaper power for South Australians with home batteries?

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart—Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:18): Yes, I can. As this house knows, we are determined to deliver cheaper electricity to South Australians. We have a focus on business and a focus on households. We know that we need storage to essentially make variable intermittent renewable energy into reliable energy that can be dispatched upon demand when consumers need it and want it, and storage is a key part of that.

We are running on with our Home Battery Scheme, which is actually developing very successfully. We have over 1,500 households that have had batteries installed under the Home Battery Scheme, receiving the very generous subsidy of up to $6,000 for the purchase of the battery price. In many cases, they have accessed the low-interest loan for the balance of the purchase price and also for the installation of brand-new solar panels. All homes are entitled to apply for that. Some don't actually need it; some do need it. It's a fantastic opportunity.

We are making electricity cheaper for all other homes as well, because when homes generate electricity in the middle of the day, when they are not typically consuming too much electricity, they store it in their battery and then they consume it in the evening in their home, out of the battery, when they typically are consuming more electricity. They are helping themselves, but they are also helping the grid because they are not drawing as much electricity out of the grid at that point in time.

By doing so, we are taking a slice off peak demand so that all other consumers benefit from more reliable, secure electricity and lower prices. You only take a small slice off peak demand to have a fairly significant impact downward on the wholesale price of electricity. It does require that the household is consuming less electricity when it is generating and consuming more electricity in the evening when it's not generating from solar.

We are looking at clever ways to expand this program into other areas that would have the same benefit—small business, for example. We would love to be able to support small business with this program, but we need small businesses that are not consuming as much electricity during the day but are consuming more electricity in the evening. Potentially, hospitality businesses and others like that would benefit very well from this scheme. We are looking at how common areas in apartment buildings can benefit—homes where they don't typically have enough roof space to support all the residents who might live there, but they very often have common electricity consumption that might be attached to a gym, a car park, a swimming pool or a common meeting area. They could benefit as well.

We are also looking at aged-care facilities—which are essentially similar to homes—where, within the broader facility, there would be independent dwellings and/or common areas, as I have just discussed. All these things are ways in which we are looking, every day, to improve how we roll out this scheme. It's running on very well as is, but we are always looking for opportunities to improve it. In the Tesla virtual power plant program, we also have over 1,000 homes installed in addition to the household battery scheme.

While we are focused on a wide range of things, storage is key. We are looking at grid-scale storage, as this house knows, but household storage is very important. I thank the member for Finniss for his question. He is always focused on what is important for households in his electorate, and we are doing everything that we possibly can to put down the cost of electricity for them.