In The Echo’s Sustainability Issue [Vol 18], Mandy Nolan noted – correctly – that Australia leads the world in rooftop solar uptake.
But the strong uptake is revealing weaknesses in the energy system.
The Australian Energy Council (AEC) and the Clean Energy Council (CEC) recently warned in a submission to the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC), that the current approach to managing essential system services, like grid stability, is reactive and poorly governed, driving up costs for consumers.
At the same time, the CEC has pushed back on proposals by the AEMC to increase fixed network charges, arguing they would discourage households from generating, storing, and using their own energy.
If we want communities to embrace rooftop solar, batteries, and electrification, the system settings must support them.
Pricing should be transparent, and responsive, not locked into blunt fixed charges that undermine participation.
Zero Emissions Byron–Northern Rivers has representation on the NSW Essential Energy Stakeholder Panel and continues to advocate for transparent pricing, and genuine community engagement.
Submissions to the AEMC is via: www.aemc.gov.au/contact-us/lodge-submission.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
