Rooftop Solar Continues Its Impact on Wholesale Electricity Prices

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It will come as no surprise to most people that during the summer months, electricity prices tend to rise in Melbourne and throughout Australia.

If you’re trying to make it through the warmest months of the year in Victoria without air conditioning, you either can’t afford it or you think of yourself as some kind of superhero.

Luckily, for those in the first camp, things are changing. We’ve seen a clear drop in power use in Australia throughout the past year, and there was a much lower than usual rise in electricity prices in the first quarter of 2021 to match that trend. This was down to a combination of factors.

Firstly, the summer wasn’t as hot as most, and so aircons weren’t cranked up to full every day. Secondly, and more interestingly from a sustainability perspective, a combination of increased use of solar panels (including 6.6Kw solar systems at residential properties) and the recent introduction of the Big Stick legislation have led to a general and ongoing reduction in energy costs within Melbourne and beyond.

This legislation (passed in 2020) forces energy providers to pass savings on to their customers. This means that more renewable energy being fed into the grid passes savings on to everyone, from commercial and wholesale energy users (who tend to save the most) to domestic users. Both commercial and residential properties can also be fitted with solar panels, reducing energy costs even further by providing solar for use on-site and feeding any excess into the grid.

Energy prices are lowest in Victoria, where they have fallen by over 60% in Q1 of 2020 to a low of $25MWh. Energy use is also incredibly low in the state, as more and more Victorians embrace renewable energy such as solar panels, slashing their reliance on electricity provided by fossil fuels, contributing energy to the grid, and receiving incentives for generating solar power.

If you’ve been thinking about investing in solar panels in Melbourne or the surrounding areas, now is the time to do it. Not only can you save yourself money, but you’re also doing good for the planet as well as contributing to an overall trend of historically low energy prices that benefit the whole of Victoria.

Invest in a 6.6Kw solar system today to provide your home or business with renewable energy and send any excess to the grid, and next summer you’ll be able to run your air conditioning as much as needed without any guilt or any worries about your power bill. Visit Solar Miner’s website for more details.