A group of organisations today expressed shock at the fact that a New Zealand energy company is introducing a tax of up to 26% on solar power and batteries from today, April 1.<\/p>\n
North Island energy provider Unison Energy will quietly introduce higher user lines and electricity charges on any new rooftop solar or battery system in the Hawkes Bay, Rotorua and Taupo area installed from 1 April. The tax will be extended to all solar power users on April 1, 2019.\u00a0 It will increase customers\u2019 bills by up to 26%, increasing them by between $128 and $258 a year.<\/p>\n
Unison has held private, one-on-one meetings with solar energy companies, informing them of the move.<\/p>\n
\u201cSolar customers have already suffered after the power companies slashed the rate they pay for solar energy fed back into the grid. People are saving money and energy by installing solar power, doing their bit for the climate,\u201d said Kevin Hunter of local Hawkes Bay solar business Cellpower.\u00a0 \u201cIsn\u2019t this what we should all be working towards to limit climate change and reduce electricity costs?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cToday might be April 1, but this is no joke,\u201d said Executive Director of Greenpeace New Zealand, Russel Norman.\u00a0 \u201cThat, in 2016, only months after the world agreed in Paris to reduce emissions to stop climate change, a New Zealand company is specifically taxing solar energy users is extraordinary \u2013 and wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the US, the solar industry now employs more people than Facebook, Google and Amazon combined and is growing nearly 12 times faster than the overall economy. Here in New Zealand this clean technology industry is raidly growing, creating high value new jobs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn virtually every other nation in the OECD, solar power is subsidised to encourage uptake and clean tech job creation, yet here in New Zealand our monopoly power companies are taxing the technology to kill the industry at birth,\u201d\u00a0 said Brendan Winitana, Chairman of the Sustainable Electricity Association New Zealand (SEANZ).<\/p>\n
\u201cSolar power is now cheaper than retail power across our nation, which saves communities money and helps protect the environment.\u201d<\/p>\n
CEO of solarcity, Andrew Booth challenged the fairness of taxing an energy system like solar that has the same impact on reducing demand as other energy efficiency devices.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s next?\u00a0 If you take this to its logical conclusion, perhaps they should tax energy efficiency products\u2013 because by using a basket of simple technologies you can achieve the same demand reduction without impacting the winter peak.\u00a0 Yet this new tax is only being levied on solar customers.<\/p>\n
\u201cEither reducing demand is an unfair avoidance of paying for the lines or it is not. The pricing strategies of the power companies are illogical and broken.\u00a0 This is unfair, unjust and out of control.\u201d<\/p>\n
Energy Analyst Molly Melhuish said:<\/p>\n
\u201cHawkes Bay is one of the sunniest places in NZ, and this move by Unison to tax the sun is a clear infringement of civil liberties and the rights of all kiwis to harvest and use energy from the sun to reduce energy bills.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHawkes Bay makes New Zealand\u2019s most efficient wood burners, but air quality regulation is suppressing use of even approved wood burners. Wood and solar together could integrate with electricity supply to reduce costs year round.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth Government and industry have vested interests in a growing electricity demand, because that gives the excuse for rising power prices. If only the industry would cooperate instead of competing with alternative fuels, New Zealand could enjoy 100% renewable \u2013 and affordable \u2013 household energy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brendan Winitana added:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s clear that Unison does not like the choices its customers are making.\u00a0 Unison does not want to lose customers and revenue to solar companies.\u00a0 But in New Zealand, we expect companies to respond to competition and innovation with better service, lower costs, and increased efficiency.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat Unison has done instead is anti-competitive, unlawful and a clear abuse of monopoly power against ordinary kiwis who are trying to reduce power bills and help stop climate change. It\u2019s time our energy retailers moved with the times, instead of penalising innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n
ENDS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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