The Liberal Opposition is calling on the Government to immediately reinstate the Home Battery Scheme to address increasing household electricity costs - with ESCOSA data showing a $798 increase to average annual electricity retail bills under Labor.
Leader of the Opposition, Vincent Tarzia said South Australians are running out of money and patience under the Malinauskas Labor Government, as cost of living pressures mount.
“There are levers that the Government can pull right now to ease the pressure on South Australians but instead they are sitting idle. It’s time for Peter Malinauskas to take real steps to reduce the power bills of South Australians,” Mr Tarzia said.
In 2022, the Labor Government axed a key renewable energy policy of the former Liberal Government which was designed to lower the cost of living and help more people access home energy storage systems.
“One of the first things Labor did in Government was scrap the Home Battery Scheme - which was introduced by the former Liberal Government to provide affordable, reliable and clean energy,” Shadow Minister for Energy and Net Zero, Stephen Patterson said.
“Now, the South Australian Labor Government is receiving record revenue from South Australian taxpayers. That is why we are calling on them to reinstate the remaining funding scrapped from the Scheme to enable households to access subsidies for the installation of home batteries.
“Under the previous State Liberal Government, installations of solar battery storage systems were up, and average annual electricity retail bills were down. Under Labor, the same battery storage installations are trending down, and electricity prices are up.”
Liberal Candidate for Black, Amanda Wilson emphasised that families and small businesses are hurting badly – with energy prices proving to be another huge blow to household budgets and already razor thin profit margins.
“Many residents in the electorate of Black have installed solar panels but are unable to capitalise on further savings due to additional costs associated with purchasing a home battery,” Ms Wilson said.
“Subsidies for home battery systems would not only help lower the power used from the grid but would also lower power bills for South Australian families and businesses.”
Mr Tarzia added, “The Premier has no plan to deal with skyrocketing energy prices around the state and it’s costing local families and businesses significantly.”
“The Government should reinstate the Scheme to the original subsidy amount at $500 per kWhr capacity of the home battery, capped at a maximum of $5,000 per system, or $6,000 for concession holders.”
The Liberal Opposition have put forward policies that this Government could implement now to reduce the cost of living, including a call to freeze government fees and charges and a reversal of Labor’s water bill hikes to ease cost pressures on household budgets.
The Liberal Party have also called for lowering costs for businesses through payroll tax reform, cutting the GP tax grab, and providing further stamp duty relief for first home buyers to get South Australians into their first home sooner.