Today, Western Australia is home to the world’s largest isolated electrical grid. It has now put itself in hot water over its recently unveiled flagship rebate program for home batteries. The new program started operating on July 1. It seeks to motivate individual homeowners statewide to install both home battery systems. Technical challenges and an incredibly confusing customer portal are pushing most installers to strike against the new program. This temporary boycott undercuts its desired effect.
The Western Australian government created this initiative to encourage the development of renewable energy microgrid solutions. It complements a distinct virtual power plant (VPP) program. The $337 million scheme, with a federal $8000 per home rebate, will ultimately help 100,000 houses. Yet many stakeholders are understandably exasperated in light of operational laid-bare crises.
Technical Snags and Confusion
The implementation of the rebate scheme has been plagued by serious technical problems. An unnecessarily complicated customer web portal has been a source of confusion for installers in the field, and new customers setting up their account. Don Xu, the managing director of Energy Spurt, pointed to a fascinating trend. He highlighted that despite these companies announcing thousands of pre-orders, the majority of the batteries never reached the approved list for the scheme.
“Some companies had thousands of pre-orders, but most of the batteries weren’t on the list.” – Don Xu
Consequently, installers are being left holding the bag, and some even teetering on the brink. Darren Magennis, manager at DMG Solar, described it as “an absolute nightmare.” He articulates the concern shared by many in the industry that have been left drowning by the scheme’s administrative hurdles.
The confusion doesn’t stop with the battery approvals. In fact, installers all over the state said they have faced late payments from Western Australia’s state-owned energy provider Synergy. Jarryd Sewell, managing director at JS Electrical, says he’s owed $20,000. As such, he has chosen to boycott the scheme until he is compensated. He expressed his frustrations candidly.
“I’m not doing the state rebate jobs. All my customers are getting shitty but I don’t care. I’d rather not do it and get paid six months later.” – Jarryd Sewell
Minister Sanderson also recognised the teething problems of such a large scale scheme. In her closing remarks, she expressed appreciation for the government’s efforts thus far and their commitment to overcoming these obstacles.
“We haven’t administered a scheme of this scale before. We knew there would be teething problems and we’re working through them diligently.” – Minister Sanderson
Installer Boycotts and Financial Implications
The continuing problems with the rebate program have caused dozens of installers to rescind their participation. Financial implications Many of these businesses are waiting on six-figure sums for projects installed back in July all but begging the question of their current liquidity. Businesses like Perth Solar Warehouse and Positive Energy Solutions have shared similar stories of delayed payments for their work.
Synergy’s Derek McKercher has noted that confusion still rules at the turf line between Synergy and Plenti as to who is responsible for paying. At one point, he blasted his school district’s email ping ponging over the delays in payment.
“We’ve approached Plenti and said, ‘Hey, what’s the hold-up with the money?’ And their response is, it’s Synergy releasing the [meter numbers].” – Derek McKercher
Installer Daniel Overd emphasized the lack of accountability between the two entities:
“Either Synergy or Plenti are responsible, and if you ask either one, they say it’s the other.” – Daniel Overd
This has created a widespread sense of frustration and malaise among the installer community. Anyone directly engaged with the rebate program is certainly starting to feel the tide turn. As a result, many of them are seriously considering pulling out their participation completely.
Future of the Rebate Program
As Western Australia continues to face these issues, there is reason for optimism that positive change is on the way. Now Minister Sanderson has acknowledged that small business operators should not face delays in receiving payments. She highlighted addressing these issues as a major priority for her office.
“It’s not at all ideal that small business operators are waiting for that money.” – Minister Sanderson
Though many installers are publicly doubtful about the program’s ability to survive long term, many others are more cautiously optimistic. As industry insider Robbie Campbell told us, signaling progress could soon be found.
“We’re starting to see light at the end of the tunnel.” – Robbie Campbell
The implementation of the state rebate scheme has been so poor that many installers are still hesitant to touch it with a barge pole. Maybe Darren Magennis went the farthest by hinting that he’d rather the state rebate not exist at all.
“I wish there was no state rebate.” – Darren Magennis
The reality on the ground is that many industry stakeholders have decided to skip the state-backed program altogether. Warwick Johnston noted that this shift may actually accelerate installations as businesses seek quicker paths to revenue outside of government bureaucracy.
“Part of this [acceleration] may be because installers have decided it’s faster to install without being involved in the WA government program.” – Warwick Johnston
