Solar Readiness for Strata - Section 9 - Electricity Contracts
The current electricity contract the common area/houselights meter is on or individual apartment meters are on will not have a feed-in tariff (FiT) rate. Some care should be taken when choosing a new electricity contract after installing solar, as the higher the feed-in rate offered, sometimes the higher the average effective grid import rates may be (across peak, shoulder, offpeak and connection fees). Energy retailers may offer a feed-in tariff from say 5c per kWh to 21c per kWh. 7c per kWh is a 'normal' feed in rate.
Analogue (spinning disc) electricity meters will need to be upgraded to bi-directional smart meters which can measure how much electricity flows from the grid into the meter and how much electricity flows back out into the grid through the meter, when more solar is being produced than can be consumed by the load behind the meter. Moving from an analogue to a digital/smart meter will also allow the owner of the meter to move to electricity contracts which have peak, shoulder and offpeak rates under a "time of use" tariff model. Here is a good article by Gavin Dietz, from Wattwatchers on the need for smart meter boxes.
Feed-in tariffs are typically only offered on smaller solar systems. Depending on your grid provider, you may not be able to access tariffs which have feed-in rates for solar systems which are 40kW or more in size.
Analogue (spinning disc) electricity meters will need to be upgraded to bi-directional smart meters which can measure how much electricity flows from the grid into the meter and how much electricity flows back out into the grid through the meter, when more solar is being produced than can be consumed by the load behind the meter. Moving from an analogue to a digital/smart meter will also allow the owner of the meter to move to electricity contracts which have peak, shoulder and offpeak rates under a "time of use" tariff model. Here is a good article by Gavin Dietz, from Wattwatchers on the need for smart meter boxes.
Feed-in tariffs are typically only offered on smaller solar systems. Depending on your grid provider, you may not be able to access tariffs which have feed-in rates for solar systems which are 40kW or more in size.
However, one thing that few strata buildings check if they are on "large market contracts" or commercial and industrial (C&I) electricity tariffs, is what effect the solar system will have on overall demand from the grid. If the solar system is large enough to drop the grid import electricity through the threshold level for a large market contract (160MWh/100MWh p.a.), then the strata scheme may be able to apply to have its electricity meter replaced with a smaller electricity meter after installation of the solar system. This could allow the strata scheme to drop into a more cost-effective tariff band i.e. move from a large market contract to a small market contract, providing faster return on investment on the solar system. This is called changing the class of your electricity meter. You may be able to move off a class of electricity contract which has capacity charges, environmental charges etc.
There are some innovative energy retailers entering the market to compete with the classic "big 3" energy retailers. Some of these upstart energy retailers such as Energy Locals, Amber and Localvolts may even offer retail customers access to wholesale energy rates. They may also offer features such as being able to trade your feed-in on an open market, rather than only being able to sell it to your energy retailer.
You may want to watch a video on Offsite solar and net zero apartment buildings.
There are some innovative energy retailers entering the market to compete with the classic "big 3" energy retailers. Some of these upstart energy retailers such as Energy Locals, Amber and Localvolts may even offer retail customers access to wholesale energy rates. They may also offer features such as being able to trade your feed-in on an open market, rather than only being able to sell it to your energy retailer.
You may want to watch a video on Offsite solar and net zero apartment buildings.
While possibly not a large financial saving, for large market electricity contracts (>160MWh/100MWh consumption p.a. depending on the state), solar may reduce capacity charges at times of peak building demand. This can sometimes reduce peak demand charges which are applied to the electricity contract when the peak demand threshold for the building is exceeded. After installation of a large solar system, the strata building may want to apply to their grid provider for a capacity demand reset.
For solar systems which have a battery attached there are a number of Virtual Power Plant (VPP) programs and Demand Response programs being trialled at present. These programs will provide additional revenue for remote battery discharge during peak grid demand periods. You may want to watch a video on Virtual Power Plants.
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