TAS Feed In Tariff Information
Tasmania has a regulated minimum solar feed-in tariff. In the 2023-24 financial year it was set at 10.869c/kWh – a 22.4% increase from the year before. The Office of the Tasmanian Economic Regulator said this was largely due to a significant jump in wholesale electricity prices. The current rate is the highest it has been for a few years.
Electricity retailers are not required to give a feed-in tariff to homes with a solar inverter capacity of over 10 kilowatts. As the maximum allowed for single-phase properties is 10 kilowatts, this will only apply to properties with three-phase power and large solar systems. In these situations, the feed-in tariff is determined on a case-by-case basis. If this is your situation, we wish you the best of luck in negotiating a good deal for your valuable solar electricity exports.
Official solar feed-in tariff information from the Economic Regulator can be found here.
Higher Feed-In Tariff Available
While Tasmania has a minimum feed-in tariff that most retailers offer, they are allowed to pay more. One retailer, 1st Energy, has a plan with a 12 cent feed-in tariff. While this is the highest we know of in Tasmania, it can pay to check the per kilowatt-hour and daily supply charges to make sure it is the best plan for your situation.
Historical Info
Tasmanians who purchased a solar power system before 30th August 2013 were eligible to receive a 1:1 feed-in tariff guaranteed until 31 December 2019. This was to reward early adopters of PV in Tasmania as solar panels and other components cost far more then than they do now.
One of the 2018 election commitments of the Hodgman Government was to review Tasmania’s solar feed in tariffs, with view to new arrangements being in place from January 2019. The review began in July 2018 and was completed in November 2018.
For those on the 1:1 Premium Transitional FiT, they were switched to what was then the standard current rate of 8.541 c/kWh, plus received an extra 5 c/kWh – 13.541 c/kWh all told. This arrangement stayed in place until December 31, 2019, after which time just the standard rate applied.
Shopping around for better electricity tariffs in Tasmania
Electricity retailer choice has increased in Tasmania over the past few years. There are now at least seven electricity retailers operating including Aurora Energy, Energy Locals, Future X Power and 1st Energy. The latter is unusually named given it was the second retailer in the state, but maybe they were hoping no one would notice that Tasmania had electricity before they started operating there in February 2019.
You can use SQ’s energy tool to compare electricity plans for solar owners in Tasmania (and across Australia).
If you’re considering installing solar panels, read our helpful guide to solar in Tasmania and check out reviews of solar installers in Hobart and Launceston that are part of the SolarQuotes network.