July 10, 2012
The decision by the State Government to slash the feed-in tariff rate for solar power systems from 44c/kWh to 8c/kWh from midnight last night has sparked a huge run of last-minute orders at solar retailers.
An Ergon Energy spokesman said the company was now working hard to process the large number of applications to connect solar photovoltaic inverter energy systems.
In the two weeks after the State Government announced changes to the feed-in tariff, Ergon received 32,778 applications before the deadline of midnight last night.
This compared with 51,000 applications received for the entire 2011/12 financial year.
“We have received a large volume of applications as a result of the changes and ask customers and solar industry members to be patient during this process if they are making inquiries or waiting for approval,” General Manager Service Delivery Paul Jordon said.
“We are pulling in extra resources where required but it takes time for us to ensure all applications are evaluated against technical and safety requirements.”
Applicants can expect to receive advice on their applications about a month after their application was submitted.
The new 8 cent tariff will be reviewed by July 1 next year and is scheduled to end on July 1, 2014.
However customers who have qualified to receive the much higher 44c/kWh will continue to receive this payment until July 1, 2028 for energy exported to the electricity grid (provided they continue to meet eligibility criteria).
