The Australian Government, through the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water(DCCEEW), has put forward a proposal that could improve the way energy is consumed in the country. This initiative is the Shared Solar Offer(SSO), a measure that seeks to offer households a defined period of free electricity each day.
Free electricity consumption and solar grid retrofitting
The proposal is part of the reform of the Default Market Offer (DMO), a mechanism that sets price caps for standard contracts in New South Wales, South Australia and South East Queensland. With the SSO, the government intends to incentivize users to shift their consumption to peak solar generation hours, thereby taking advantage of the abundance of photovoltaic power during the day.
The initiative seeks to improve the affordability of electricity, optimize the use of the electricity grid and ensure that the benefits of the energy transition reach all households, regardless of their socioeconomic status. It also aims to empower consumers by offering them clearer and more advantageous choices in an energy system that is in the midst of transformation.
The DCCEEW has opened a public consultation phase to receive input from citizens, businesses and stakeholders on the final design of the program. Issues under evaluation include tariff structure, effects on consumers, and integration of supply with other energy market reforms.
The SSO supports the principles of energy justice, while proposing a cultural change: aligning consumption behavior with the most efficient moments of the electricity system. This collaborative approach seeks to generate transparent benefits, both for households and for the national energy system as a whole.
Source: DCCEEW
Photo: Shutterstock
