WA could face tariff shake up
Queensland won’t be the only state looking to shake up its feed-in tariff (FiT) system after newly re-elected Western Australian Premier Colin Barnett announced his intentions to reform the state system earlier last week.
The overtures to reform the system have received support from the Energy Supply Association of Australia (ESAA), who has urged a review of pricing structures of FITs in all states and territories.
ESAA CEO, Matthew Warren, said that it was a simple matter of fairness to review the system to make sure that all customers, including solar PV owners, paid their share of the cost of electricity networks.
Solar energy has demonstrated it doesn’t need government support to continue its growth path,” Mr Warren said.
“Governments have taken sensible steps to close these schemes. Now it is time to look at existing tariff structures to ensure they are not also leading to higher power bills for everyone else.”
The calls by the ESAA back up the findings of the Queensland Competition Authority, which recently found that the state’s TiF system would put significant upward pricing pressure on consumers.