The NSW Government would punish all NSW households with a solar levy power price hike, while power companies continue to get cheap and often free solar power, the Australian Solar Energy Society (AuSES) warned today.

In the NSW budget today, the NSW Treasurer Mike Baird announced that his government will increase electricity bills for all NSW households by about $12 a year in another attack on solar take-up in the state.

“The NSW government is hiding behind the success of solar. This is simply another cash grab with solar once again being used as a scapegoat”, said Chief Executive of the Australian Solar Energy Society (AuSES) John Grimes.

Grimes is questioning why the government hitting householders including renters. He said AuSES is concerned that today’s decision by the NSW Government sets a bad national precedent where any government that wants to generate more revenue from households can hike power prices and blame it on solar power.

“The government should make power companies pay a fair price for the solar power they are currently getting from solar households if it wants to claw back funds for the Budget,” said Grimes.

“There is no scheme at all in NSW to encourage the uptake of solar, meanwhile the government is purposely raising electricity bills.”

“There needs to be a fair price for solar power”, he said.