A new rebate for solar panels is now in effect.

The rebate can be worth up to $7,750 but it will vary over time and depending on location.

The federal government axed a previous, more generous solar rebate in June, and set up the new rebate as part of the Renewable Energy Target scheme, which passed parliament last month.

Climate Change Minister Penny Wong announced on Thursday that the rebate was up and running and would be backdated to June 9.

Unlike previous rebates, this one is available to businesses and community groups as well as homes.

It also covers small-scale wind and micro-hydro systems.

Source: http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/new-solar-rebate-takes-effect-20090910-fiup.html

The government has told Queenslanders to get used to regular hikes in their power bills if they expect a reliable supply.

The Supreme Court has ruled the Queensland Competition Authority’s (QCA) 2008/09 increase of 5.38 per cent, which added almost $100 to the average annual bill, was not enough.

Electricity retailers AGL and Origin Energy successfully argued the rise should have been about nine per cent and are now waiting for a decision on whether they can backdate the hike.

This would see the average household slugged with another $60 bill before the end of the financial year.

Opposition energy spokesman Jeff Seeney said Queenslanders were paying the price for the government’s failure to properly manage the deregulation of the electricity industry.

“Premier Anna Bligh put her hand on her heart and promised us cheaper electricity, but all we’ve had is price hike after price hike – 17 per cent in the last two years and another 13 per cent on the way from July this year,” he said.

“The minister can’t keep delegating responsibility to a process that is so complicated no one can understand it and which a court has now found is flawed.”

Energy Minister Stephen Robertson said the opposition’s suggestion he should step in was “glib and very cute”.

“They know that even if I was to go down that path, that any decision that I make would also be subject to judicial review,” he told reporters in Brisbane.

“If I ticked off or endorsed an increase in electricity prices that were less than the true cost of providing and distributing that electricity, then we would see exactly the same action by Origin, by AGL.”

Mr Robertson said deregulation was irrelevant to the price rises, and backed the QCA’s authority to regulate electricity prices.

He said consumers were paying the “true cost” of a power supply that wasn’t plagued by blackouts as it was in the past, in a state where population and power use continued to grow.

“Fifty per cent of that (2009/10) 13 per cent increase is purely as a result of the increase in the feed stock to keep the generators going,” Mr Robertson said.

“What we’re talking about here is not an action of greed by the retailers … we need to appreciate they have experienced some significant costs that are outside of their control.”

Queenslanders should get used to regular increases in their electricity bills, and trust the QCA to be vigilant of price gouging, he said.

“They will go up on a regular basis,” Mr Robertson said.

“As to how much they go up by I think is the question that we obviously have to be concerned about.”

The government was seeking legal advice on the retailers’ efforts to backdate the 2008/09 price rise.

AAP

Source: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/qld-news/prepare-for-power-price-hikes-qld-consumers-warned-20090508-axv0.html