Ms SPENCE (Yuroke) — (12 384) My constituency question is to the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, and I ask: what benefits should Yuroke residents expect from recent changes to the minimum solar feed‑in tariff? Many local residents have raised this issue with me, and they are pleased with the recent change. I look forward to providing this information to the residents of Yuroke.

Response:

I am pleased to advise that as a result of changes to the feed-in tariff (FiT) framework implemented by the Andrews Labor Government, households and businesses will be paid prices that reflect the true value of the energy they provide to the electricity grid from 1 July 2017.

Early FiT schemes have been very successful and have contributed to over one gigawatt of total small-scale solar PV capacity in Victoria.

Under changes introduced by the previous State Coalition Government, the Transitional Feed-in Tariff and the Standard Feed-in Tariff schemes expired on 31 December 2016. Customers previously receiving higher rates have since been transitioned to the current minimum FiT, at a rate of five cents per kilowatt hour.

The Andrews Labor Government’s election commitment is to ensure that customers are fairly compensated for the excess power they export to the electricity grid. Under the Labor Government, this minimum rate is increasing from five cents to 11.3 cents per kilowatt hour.

These changes mean that households in Yuroke will benefit from fair compensation for the power they provide to the grid. Around 130,000 solar customers across Victoria will benefit from these changes.

The Andrews Labor Government has also legislated changes which will enable FiT rates to be set more efficiently, while also taking into account the environmental and social value of solar generation to the community – including the significant greenhouse gas emissions avoided by switching to renewable energy. While the Opposition voted against our recent legislation, the Andrews Labor Government has successfully delivered our promise to provide a fair FiT rate for Victorians.

Hon Lily D’Ambrosio MP
Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change