Federal Member for Indi Helen Haines has welcomed incentives for cheaper home batteries after the government adopted her policy to help reduce power bills for households, small businesses and community groups.

Labor has revealed a plan to provide incentives for small-scale batteries to reduce power bills for households, small businesses and community groups such as sporting clubs as one of its signature policies for the forthcoming federal election.

Dr Haines has pushed for home batteries to be included in the Small-Scale Renewable Energy Scheme through the introduction of her own legislation in February 2022 and again in March 2023.

“In February 2022, and again in March 2023, I introduced legislation to make home batteries cheaper by including them in the Small-Scale Renewable Energy Scheme,” Dr Haines said.

“This is the same mechanism that helps Australians benefit from rooftop solar, and it makes sense to do the same for home batteries.

“This shows the power of having independents in parliament. I listened to local people in my electorate, brought forward a solution and campaigned on it, and now we see the major parties acting.

“Cheaper home batteries, the National Anti-Corruption Commission, funding for enabling infrastructure for housing — these are all major areas where I have pushed for change and seen results on the national landscape.”

Dr Haines said the government’s adoption of her policy would be welcomed by households that had installed rooftop solar and now wanted to benefit from lower energy bills by storing and using the power they produced on their own roof.

“Energy bills are one of the biggest costs in a household budget and this will support people to reduce their energy costs,” she said.

“One in three Australian households have already taken their power literally into their own hands by installing rooftop solar to reduce their power bills and emissions.

“If those households install batteries to store that energy, they will reduce their costs further.

“The cost of energy is causing significant stress on households in Indi — and home batteries have been out of reach for most Australian households.

“Helping people access home batteries is the missing piece of the puzzle, storing excess power from during the day to use during peak periods instead of buying it back from the grid.

“The government has now promised to implement what I’ve been proposing for over three years, and that’s the need to turbocharge home batteries, just like we did for rooftop solar over a decade ago.”

Dr Haines called on the Coalition to match the commitment.

“If the Coalition is serious about helping Australians lower their energy bills, they’ll back my policy for cheaper home batteries,” she said.

“It is clear that as an independent, listening to the problems people are facing and coming up with solutions, that we can influence the policies of the major parties and secure better outcomes for regional communities.”

To read more about the Dr Haines’ Cheaper Home Batteries Bill 2022, visit tinyurl.com/ymmtwc5t

To read about the Dr Haines’ Cheaper Home Batteries Bill 2023, visit tinyurl.com/4zn93yjj

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