A new Smart Energy Council analysis of Peter Dutton’s nuclear policy has shown power bills would be $220 higher across the National Electricity Market in 2030 due solely to the absence of support for energy efficiency policies from the Federal Opposition.
That would be on top of a minimum 33% increase in power bills for all Australians, and a doubling of power bills for Australians with solar panels, previously identified by the Smart Energy Council.
Households on the National Electricity Market will be over $8 billion worse off by 2030-31 due to the nuclear policy and lack of support for more efficient homes.
“Peter Dutton’s nuclear policy will burn a massive hole in your wallet,” said Wayne Smith, Acting Chief Executive of the Smart Energy Council.
“If you have solar, your power bill will double.”
“It will be harder to save money with energy efficient appliances like heat pumps and more efficient air conditioning, fridges and TVs because there will be fewer, if any, national incentives. Your power bills will go up and up.”
“Australians want to live in comfortable homes with energy efficient appliances that save them money and Peter Dutton will stop that from happening.”
“The Federal Opposition has refused to release a single policy to promote energy efficiency. They clearly want Australians to pay more for power.”
“Australia is already rolling out cheap, reliable renewables. Power bills are going down. We just need to stick to the plan,” Mr Smith said.
Under the Liberal and National Party’s nuclear nightmare, renewable energy in Australia will be capped at 54%, a generation capacity the nation is on target to achieve by 2026.
“Mr Dutton and his colleagues want to deny Australians access to smart energy sources and products that slash power bills, all because they hate renewable energy.,” Mr Smith said.
Detailed Analysis
The Smart Energy Council’s new analysis compares the Government’s preferred approach (the Step Change scenario under the Australian Energy Market Operator’s Integrated System Plan) with the Coalition’s preferred approach (the Progressive Scenario). The analysis shows a stark difference in the approaches to energy efficiency, with significant flow on differences for power bills.
State breakdowns of lost energy savings:
| Cost Difference per Dwelling with Growth Rates Factored-In | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 | 2029-30 | 2030-31 | |
| NSW | $ 32.14 | $ 57.41 | $ 86.81 | $ 120.56 | $ 158.79 | $ 193.99 | $ 236.20 |
| QLD | $ 23.88 | $ 43.65 | $ 66.55 | $ 94.68 | $ 129.85 | $ 165.60 | $ 211.73 |
| SA | $ 29.99 | $ 53.96 | $ 84.50 | $ 123.36 | $ 170.76 | $ 220.76 | $ 272.24 |
| TAS | $ 28.63 | $ 51.03 | $ 77.16 | $ 107.00 | $ 140.75 | $ 172.33 | $ 212.42 |
| VIC | $ 29.09 | $ 46.90 | $ 66.23 | $ 87.61 | $ 111.79 | $ 135.12 | $ 167.27 |
| NEM Average | $ 28.74 | $ 50.59 | $ 76.25 | $ 106.64 | $ 142.39 | $ 177.56 | $ 219.97 |
| Cost Difference with Growth Rates Factored-In | |||||||
| 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 | 2029-30 | 2030-31 | |
| NSW | $ 109,977,414 | $ 199,788,866 | $ 307,261,938 | $ 433,936,094 | $ 581,289,597 | $ 722,203,140 | $ 894,291,443 |
| QLD | $ 53,309,067 | $ 99,110,872 | $ 153,688,070 | $ 222,376,832 | $ 310,155,553 | $ 402,270,857 | $ 523,085,462 |
| SA | $ 24,651,013 | $ 45,114,764 | $ 71,846,357 | $ 106,675,763 | $ 150,179,730 | $ 197,445,853 | $ 247,633,931 |
| TAS | $ 7,548,962 | $ 13,686,281 | $ 21,046,946 | $ 29,681,866 | $ 39,706,155 | $ 49,440,465 | $ 61,979,764 |
| VIC | $ 83,142,533 | $ 136,343,718 | $ 195,812,878 | $ 263,422,450 | $ 341,859,086 | $ 420,227,707 | $ 529,031,352 |
| Net | $ 278,628,989 | $ 494,044,500 | $ 749,656,188 | $ 1,056,093,005 | $ 1,423,190,121 | $ 1,791,588,022 | $ 2,256,021,953 |
| Net Cumulative | $ 278,628,989 | $ 772,673,489 | $ 1,522,329,677 | $ 2,578,422,682 | $ 4,001,612,803 | $ 5,793,200,825 | $ 8,049,222,778 |
Nuclear Impact on Solar
Based on the Coalition’s plan to force 14 gigawatts of nuclear power into Australia’s grid, our analysis finds that up to 5 million rooftop solar systems will be switched off, and the average power price bill will more than double.
The Smart Energy Council’s analysis of the Federal Opposition’s nuclear policy on solar homes has revealed:
- Between 3,217,500 to 5,148,000 rooftop solar systems (up to 12.5 million Australians) will need to be shut off every day to allow nuclear to be shoe-horned into the system.
- Nuclear will knock out solar for an average 67% of the year, resulting in lost energy savings and solar residents being forced on to higher nuclear power prices.
- The combination of lost solar savings ($888) per year, and being forced to pay for nuclear power will be $2,221 per year, up from $1,000.
- Nuclear power will add $665 per year to the average non-solar household, from $2,000 to $2,665.
- Australia’s 4 million solar homes stand to lose $4.8 billion in energy savings with nuclear power in the grid, every single year.
*The savings from solar for the current power bill is $1,000.
**The savings from solar with the nuclear power bill is $444.
For media requests and more information including interviews with case studies of residents in renewable powered, energy efficient Australian homes, please contact:
Tim Lamacraft, Smart Energy Council – 0448 972 192 – Tim@smartenergy.org.au
