Solar Feed in tariffs being reduced - AGAIN!

[Steve4567]

So let me get this straight...

We spend thousands installing solar, help generate clean energy for the grid, and now the everyday feed-in tariff is being reduced to almost nothing?

Looks like power companies are happy to take our excess electricity, just not pay a fair price for it. Another win for the energy retailers and another hit for everyday Australians.

[Lester]

..

Yeah Steve, it sure seems like solar investment (alone) is a dead duck now !!

Sure, the savings from self consumption are great, but peak tariffs rising to obscene levels, daily supply charges on the up and up too, it's making less and less $ sense to go solar (without a battery).

In less than 3 years FITs have all but gone.
Nov 2023 solar installed, 6c FIT, helped a lot.
July 1st 2024, FIT reduced 33% to 4c, not so useful, but still made some difference especially in summer.

July 1st 2025, FIT halved from there to 2c, almost not worth anything now.
This July 2026 the FIT halves again to 1c, now it seems like a slap in the face and really is better to just stop exporting altogether.

Considering the "sun tax" is 1c between 1000 and 1600 for more than the 9kwh threshold, it's like the power company is paying you nothing for most of your grid feed in.

Some states are not as bad as here in SA, but it's dropping to nothing all over the NEM network soon enough.

The peak usage tariff, which is 13 hours a day in SA, is going up 6.7%, from 53.8c to 57.4c.

This really hurts with pre solar usage in the morning 0600-1000, and even more damaging the 9 hours from 1500 to midnight, which is almost all our bill with non solar usage hours.

The daily supply charge is going up 9.5% too.

A battery is being more seriously considered (99% likely now), enough to let us run the home through non solar hours, not have any usage, and a little more to spare for grid support as we decide when, where, and how much we send out.

There are deals for FITS with other small retailers that pay a decent 30c / kwh from 1800-2100, so if you can dump even 10kwh to that it gives you $3 to cover daily supply.

Sadly, after 26 years with AGL since they started retailing power here in 2000, it might be time to look around when the battery goes in.

[Steve4567]

Spot on Lester.

The real kicker is that every change somehow gets dressed up as being in the customer's best interest, while the outcome is always the same — higher bills and lower returns.

It's hard not to be cynical when households are expected to invest thousands into helping modernise the grid, only to watch the goalposts get moved every year. Funny how "market conditions" only ever seem to work one way.

I reckon a lot more people will reach the same conclusion as you. Unfortunately I cannot afford a battery at this point in time, but would certainly do it if i could. If exporting power is worth next to nothing, why wouldn't you keep as much of it as possible for yourself?

Australia should have some of the cheapest and most reliable energy in the world, but instead we're ending up with rising costs, more complexity, and policies that seem to discourage the very behaviour they were promoting a few years ago.

If this is what the energy transition looks like, it's no surprise people are becoming angry and frustrated. At some point common sense has to come back into the conversation, but i doubt it.

Anyway, like you, i will be shopping around for a new provider too.

Cheers

[NeilC]

@Steve4567 

We have a another choice, we could all move to Qld where they have EIGHT coal fired power stations and only pay 27c per kwh. 

Now the amazing thing is that only two of these stations are scheduled for decommissioning before 2030 and the last  in 2050.

No wonder they have a low take up of solar...

[Lester]

@NeilC what you get when govco still owns a utility, at least in part.

My brother in North Qld property had 10kw solar and 10kwh battery, one only DNSP (no choice in retailers, no competition), and he got 13c FIT and peak usage 33c, every month he had minimum $150 credit, and cheques sent out regularly from power co.

[Basil_AGL]

Hey @Lester  & @Steve4567, 

You're both right, standard solar feed‑in rates have fallen over time. The reason is supply and demand. So much rooftop solar now feeds the grid that midday exports are worth very little across most of the NEM, not just South Australia. The midday "sun tax" is set by SA Power Networks under the regulator, so it isn't something retailers add on.

But solar isn't a "dead duck", its value has simply moved. What matters now is when you use or export your energy. That's where a battery helps: instead of exporting at midday when energy is worth least, you store it and use or export it later, when prices are higher.

In practice, that means running your home through the 3pm–midnight window and exporting into the evening peak. Those higher evening feed‑in rates are real, and they reflect where the market is heading. Our SA battery plans, for example, use a time‑of‑use feed‑in in the high‑20s cents per kWh for the 5–9pm window, rather than a flat all‑day rate (always worth checking the current rate for your address).

If you're comparing plans, look at the full picture: evening feed‑in, peak usage rates and supply charge together, not just the headline feed‑in rate. And once you have a battery install date, I'm happy to connect you with the right team to run the numbers and line up a plan that suits you.

Cheers, Basil