Energy Saver Loan Scheme
Ms BURNET question to MINISTER for ENERGY and RENEWABLES, Mr DUIGAN
yesterday New South Wales announced a new program offering eligible households zero-interest loans of up to $15,000 for rooftop solar, household batteries, electric appliances and home insulation, describing it as a practical cost-of-living relief to lower power bills and make homes more comfortable. In contrast, your government wound up Tasmania's Energy Saver Loan Scheme at the end of last year with nothing to replace it. Tasmanians pay some of the highest average household electricity bills in Australia and have among the lowest household incomes. Why has your government abandoned zero-interest energy efficiency loans and when will you announce a replacement program to the Energy Saver Loan Scheme to help Tasmanians cut their power bills and make their homes more resilient to a changing climate?
ANSWER
I thank the member for the question; it is an important place for us all to give our consideration and Tasmania has leant into this. We are very fortunate to have, as has been mentioned I think already today by the Deputy Premier, our 100 per cent renewable green grid which is a great benefit to Tasmania and we're about to see the realisation of that more broadly through the implementation of Marinus Link.
The Energy Saver Loan Scheme which you referenced was a time-limited three-year scheme. It was designed to support $50 million in loans but in fact ended up supporting more than $68.9 million in interest‑free loans being provided to 8276 Tasmanian households, small businesses and community groups. The scheme was underpinned by a network of 139 Tasmanian businesses supplying and installing equipment. That's a really important point in that the energy loans claim had the effect of reinforcing and helping establish in a very permanent way our solar installation industry.
You'll note that the federal government is now rolling out its Cheaper Home Batteries Program and we're seeing a great take-up of home batteries in the Tasmanian context as well. That's been a natural progression from the Energy Saver Loan Scheme with the adaptation of the federal government's Cheaper Home Batteries Program. We're looking at what we learned through the implementation of the Energy Saver Loan Scheme and the department is currently progressing work on the learnings and the opportunities for us to perhaps target our next iteration of energy support in Tasmania to those people who weren't perhaps able to participate through the energy loans scheme as it was initially designed.
It has been, as I say, very successful in driving uptake, particularly of rooftop solar but not just rooftop solar in Tasmania, a number of other areas were also canvassed through that program. In short, it's been a really successful program. We are looking at it and trying to understand where the opportunity lies in the future and what might come next to support.
Supplementary Question
Ms BURNET - I thank the minister for pointing out the oversubscription, if you like, of that $50 million, which is great, but I'm talking about lowering power bills for homeowners and renters. Will you look at what New South Wales is doing?
Mr DUIGAN - I would just make the point, and I think it is important to continue to do so, that Tasmania has the lowest regulated energy prices in the country. In real terms, over the past 10 years, the price of electricity has fallen in Tasmania and there aren't too many areas of the economy where you can say that. Our energy businesses Hydro Tasmania, TasNetworks and Aurora have done a really good job for Tasmania over the past 10 years.
I did lean into the fact that we are looking at what would come next in terms of what supports we might provide, what would be a program appropriate to take the place of the Energy Saver Loan Scheme. Obviously, what's happening in New South Wales is one thing, but there is a range of things happening around the country and work is going on in that space.
The SPEAKER - The minister's time has expired.