SA’s REPS VPP Rebate: Boost Your Home Battery Subsidy
Last Updated: 25th Sep 2025
South Australians can build on the nationally available federal government battery rebate by collecting a bonus payment under a state scheme for connecting their home batteries to a REPS-approved Virtual Power Plant.
The REPS VPP rebate can be worth up to $2,050 extra and it’s possible to claim it multiple times — here’s what you need to know.
The South Australian Retailer Energy Productivity Scheme (REPS) kicked off in 2021, following on from the state’s Retailer Energy Efficiency Scheme (REES) that operated from the beginning of 2009 to the end of 2020.
While not a government rebate, REPS sets energy productivity targets (EPTs) that must be met by electricity and gas retailers. To achieve these targets, obliged retailers offer incentives to households and businesses to carry out approved activities that include:
- Installing energy efficient lighting.
- Hot water upgrades.
- Heating and cooling upgrades.
- The purchase of energy efficient appliances.
- Connecting a home battery to an eligible Virtual Power Plant (VPP).
This explainer focuses on the VPP aspect of the Scheme. Further details about other activities under REPS can be found here.
- What Is A VPP?
- Which VPPs Are Eligible For REPS?
- What Batteries Are Eligible?
- How Much Are REPS VPP Incentives Worth?
- What Are The Other Eligibility Requirements?
- How Do You Apply For The REPS Rebate?
What Is A VPP?
A Virtual Power Plant is a network of distributed energy resources such as solar panels and batteries essentially acting like a single power plant, managed by a VPP operator. The operator determines when to charge and discharge connected batteries from and into the grid, helping to maintain network stability. In exchange for handing over control of a home battery, the owner may be provided with incentives such as a battery discount, a cash bonus, or higher feed-in tariff rates — or a mix.
You can learn more about the pros and cons of Virtual Power Plants here.
Which VPPs Are Eligible For REPS?
There are a number of Virtual Power Plant programs that are REPS eligible, providing battery owners with some choice. At the time of writing these include:
- AGL Virtual Power Plant
- Amber Smartshift
- Engie VPP
- Globird Energy ZeroHero
- Nectr Evolve
- Origin Loop
- Powwow VPP
Just regarding Amber Smartshift — it operates differently from conventional VPPs, but participating battery owners contribute to grid stability along with participating in the wholesale energy market, making it eligible for VPP-related incentives and schemes.
You can compare these programs side-by-side on the SolarQuotes VPP comparison table.
What Batteries Are Eligible?
This is where things get a little tricky as one REPS-approved VPP that supports a certain battery may not be supported by another. While not all models from a brand may be supported, generally speaking brands/models that can participate in at least one of the VPPs above at the time of writing include:
- Tesla Powerwall 2 & Powerwall 3
- LG RESU
- SolarEdge Home Battery (Energy Bank)
- Sungrow SBR/SBH
- AlphaESS Smile/RHI/B5
- BYD HVM
- GivEnergy AIO and BAT
- Neovolt BW-BAT
- RedBack SB
- Sigenergy Sigenstor
- Solax T-BAT
- GoodWe Lynx
- Eveready AS/B1
- Hinen H5000
That list isn’t complete, and note in some cases the battery must be paired with a particular inverter. Also, eligible models may change without notice — but I’ll show you how to easily determine what batteries/inverters are currently supported at which VPP in a bit.
The good news is the REPS rebate is for new and existing batteries participating in an eligible VPP, assuming the battery was connected to the VPP during the current calendar year. So, if you joined a VPP in January, you can still apply for the rebate up to the middle of December of the same year.
Important!
However, if the VPP operator has met its REPS obligation for the year, you may have to wait for early in the following year to join in order to get the rebate; and your application still won’t be guaranteed of success. Given this uncertainty, if joining a VPP hinges on getting the REPS rebate, this may not be for you.
How Much Are REPS VPP Incentives Worth?
The REPS rebate varies depending on the battery and also whether you are considered part of the ‘priority group’.
Among those in the priority group are holders of a Commonwealth Government pensioner concession card or health care card, an energy bill concession recipient, an energy retailer hardship program or payment plan participant, those paying less than $500 a week rent under a tenancy agreement or have been referred by a South Australian Financial Counsellors Association (SAFCA) member.
As an example, the rebate for a Sigenergy Sigenstor 13 kWh battery at the time of writing:
- Priority Group Rebate: $880
- Non-priority Group Rebate: $670
- Small Business Rebate: $740 incl. GST
You can claim the rebate on more than one battery, but the maximum rebate of $2,050 will be reached at a total of 28 kWh total, not useable, capacity. The program minimum is a 2 kWh battery.
That’s all without factoring in discounts from the federal Cheaper Home Batteries program, which can shave thousands of dollars more off the cost of a new battery. But just to be clear, the federal rebate is provided as an up-front discount on your battery purchase, while the REPS rebate is provided after you connect to an eligible VPP and are approved for REPS and if your REPS application is successful.
Multiple Claims Can Be Made
The rebate can be claimed at the same address on the renewal of a contract with an existing VPP provider or with a new VPP provider as long as the previous contract period was no shorter than three years in either scenario. On a related note, once you claim and receive the REPS rebate you are not bound to staying any term with your chosen VPP, unless you are bound by a contract with that VPP.
What Are The Other Eligibility Requirements?
Nothing too onerous:
- The battery/s must be for home or small business use and connected at the address specified in the application.
- Your battery/s were installed by a properly accredited retailer and installer.
- Installation must comply with all relevant Australian and South Australian laws and regulations, and all relevant Australian and International Standards.
There are also warranty requirements. Note that these are the warranty durations at the time of installation, not of application:
- Battery: 7 years.
- Any inverter: 5 years.
- Balance of system (e.g. enclosures): 5 years.
- Workmanship: 5 years.
- Whole of system: 5 years.
How Do You Apply For The REPS Rebate?
You’ll need to complete an application with an REPS activity provider authorised for the VPP activity. One of them is MAC Trade Services. Through its partnerships with various electricity retailers, MAC Trade Services can facilitate REPS payments for any VPP listed above. There is one other at the time of writing — AGL — but that’s only in relation to their own VPP. How to apply via AGL isn’t clear.
On the MAC Trade Services VPP page, you’ll discover everything else you need to know about the subsidy, including being able to identify what batteries/inverters are eligible and with which programs, how much the incentive will be and submit an application. For the subsidy application, there are a few hoops to jump through. You’ll need to provide:
- Your address details and proof of address.
- VPP details along with supporting evidence.
- Battery installation details and supporting evidence.
- Banking details.
The supporting evidence required is detailed on the page linked to above.
From there, the MAC Trade Services team will assess your application and if successful, will provide confirmation and the Activity Record, required under REPS. The VPP retailer will also receive this information. The rebate will then be sent to you via bank transfer. Payment processing may take up to 60 days.
But note that under REPS, a one-off fee of $33 (including GST) may be applicable to non-priority applicants. This payment is registered with the Essential Services Commission of SA (ESCOSA).
By the way, if you want a good-quality home battery and professional installation at a reasonable price, you’re already in the right place:
We thoroughly scrutinise installers wanting to join the SolarQuotes network, and only recommend professionals we would trust to install systems on our own homes. This totally free service is also backed by our unique Good Installer Guarantee.