Energy retailer Simply Energy has slapped a 14c-a-day unfair extra charge on solar users in Victoria.
It's a grab for money that raises total fixed fees to $400 a year for the company's solar customers - an extra $51 on top of what non-solar customers are paying!
But there’s a very simple way to get rid of these discriminatory and unfair fees. Victorian Premier Denis Napthine and Energy Minister Northe can make a regulation under the Electricity Industry Act that it be a condition of a retail energy licence that power offers must not discriminate between those who have solar and those who don't.
Sign the petition to tell Premier Napthine and Minister Northe to stand with Victorians and guarantee that no energy companies can unfairly charge solar homes!
Dear Premier Napthine and Energy Minister Northe,
I am very concerned to learn that Victorian energy retailer Simply Energy is singling out solar users for extra fixed charges on their energy bills.
Even more concerning is that you appear to endorse this position, making a statement on Twitter that this charge is fair because “poles and wires cost money”.
This statement ignores the fact that solar homes bring many benefits to the grid including the need to avoid expensive upgrades. You do not appear to support singling out other energy users who make more demands on the grid, such as the use of air conditioners at peak times.
Hundreds of thousands of homes in Victoria have gone solar to take back control of their energy bills and do their bit for the environment.
We urge you to stop this unfair discrimination immediately by changing the Electricity Industry Act to make it a condition of a retail energy licence that no power offer can discriminate between those that have solar and those that don't.
Please ensure solar has a strong future here in Victoria.