ELECTRICITY PRICES

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (15:10): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the minister representing the Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy concerning commercial electricity tariffs in South Australia.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: It has come to Family First's attention that a company that provides advice to commercial businesses about electricity tariffs has uncovered a very interesting and, some might say, untoward situation. Many businesses are on an electricity tariff that is not a demand tariff; in other words, there is no set maximum number of amps that they are able to draw down for peak usage. If these businesses were to install solar panels at their own expense, this would be a change to the supply system and they would then be placed on a demand tariff arrangement; in other words, a demand tariff would apply to them under these circumstances.

This means that they nominate the maximum or peak rate of power usage to be made available to them. The charge rate for electricity usage then decreases—that is the good part—but there is a fixed annual fee reflecting the peak usage available. The problem that arises is that, if solar panels are installed, the change to the tariff means that some businesses face significant increases in their total electricity bill, despite the fact that they have installed solar electricity.

Business owners are surprised to hear that if they pay the cost of installation of solar panels, which can be very significant, this can have the effect of increasing their annual electricity charges despite power being fed into the grid from the solar panels themselves. My question is: does the minister accept that the commercial tariff arrangement should be changed such that there is never a financial detriment for a business to install solar panels?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (15:11): I thank the honourable member for his most important question and will refer that to the Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy in another place and bring back a response.