Power bill changes could undermine government incentives, clean energy groups say

April 25, 2026 — 4:26am

Australia’s battery boom has expanded so far, accounting for one in 10 new capacity installed globally, but industry leaders say proposed electricity bill changes would lead to thousands of dollars in losses for households investing in government schemes.

The Australian Energy Market Commission on Thursday published a proposal changing the way it charges customers for costs associated with maintaining the pole and cable network, which it aims to finalize by June.

Home battery owners are concerned they will be disadvantaged by proposed billing changes. Bloomberg

While the commission has promised savings to most electricity customers, Energy Minister Chris Bowen is skeptical of the change.

But clean energy groups said the commission’s proposal would “change the ground rules” laid out by years of campaigns and financial incentives by state and federal governments encouraging homeowners to invest in batteries.

Jackie Trad, chief executive of the Clean Energy Council, which represents major renewable energy developers, said sudden increases in fixed network charges could undermine Australia’s green energy transition.

“The Clean Energy Council has warned against sudden increases in fixed network charges as part of proposed rule changes,” Trad said.

“The more an electricity bill consists of fixed charges, the less incentive there is for households to produce or save energy.”

Electricity costs paid by households largely consist of two parts: the cost per hour of electricity used and the grid charge for maintaining the grid that supplies electricity to homes.

While the increasing growth in solar energy (4.3 million solar-powered homes and 500,000 residential batteries) has significantly reduced household electricity use, the energy market commission is trying to find ways to pay for grid maintenance.

Currently network costs are collected through variable charges calculated based on the amount of electricity used from the grid. The commission warned that as the number of households with batteries increases, the amount of network electricity will decrease, leading to a switch to a higher, fixed network charge, leading to a “fairer sharing” of costs in grid maintenance.

The commission’s modeling suggests that the home battery owner would be $3,312 worse off over 10 years because of these changes. He said that in addition to reforms, new forms of compensation should also be developed to benefit battery owners.

But Solar Citizens, a lobbying group that represents solar and battery owners, said the commission’s plan would short-change homeowners encouraged to buy batteries by state and federal governments.

“Our concerns include changing the ground rules for Australian homeowners investing or considering investing in solar and batteries, undermining government incentives for home batteries and solar,” CEO Heidi Lee Douglas said.

Victoria has provided financial incentives for batteries since 2018.

Victorian Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said in March last year: “Victoria is the home of batteries, sucking up cheap renewable energy throughout the day to reduce bills for Victorian families.”

NSW Energy Minister Penny Sharpe said in July last year that her government “wants to be a world leader” in battery installations.

Last year, Bowen announced changes to its popular home battery program that offers a 30 percent discount on new installations, ensuring smaller, cheaper models get the biggest benefit.

A record number of large, utility-scale and residential batteries have been installed, Bowen said Thursday.

“We are not 10 percent of the world economy. We are not 10 percent of the world’s population, but we are 10 percent of the new battery capacity installed,” he said.

Bowen also said the bill changes should “balance the interests of those who have invested in solar and batteries and those who have not.”

The Australian Energy Market Commission expects the changes to come into force from 2030.

Experts have calculated that adopting flat charges could lower costs for wealthy, large and energy-hungry families, who could benefit by up to $1,400 a year. But it could also leave low-income households $200 a year worse off, while those with solar panels and batteries could be $700 out of pocket.

“We do not want people investing in solar cells to be disadvantaged by this reform,” said commission chair Anna Collyer.

“We think providing benefits to everyone through reduced network fees is a viable way to make sure we take care of customers who are unable to invest. [batteries] so they pay a fair share of the network costs without affecting the value of the investments people have already made.”

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