Tasmanian Power Prices Rise as Federal Solar Scheme Expands for Business

A series of state and federal changes have reshaped the landscape for solar energy in Tasmania over the past month, with households seeing new power prices and feed-in rates take effect, while the federal government has announced a major expansion of its solar incentive scheme for businesses.

Tasmanian Electricity and Solar Feed-in Prices Updated

As of 1 July 2026, Tasmanian households and small businesses on standing offers saw an average electricity price increase of 4.23 per cent. The change was approved by the Tasmanian Economic Regulator in late June, who noted the main driver was the higher network costs charged by TasNetworks for maintaining the state’s poles and wires. In a statement, Treasurer Eric Abetz acknowledged the cost of living pressures but said the determination confirms Tasmania’s electricity prices remain among the nation’s lowest.

For a typical residential customer, the regulator estimated the price rise would add just over $100 to their annual bill.

In a more positive development for solar owners, the minimum solar feed-in tariff—the rate paid for surplus energy exported to the grid—also increased. On 1 July, the rate rose by 5.6 per cent to 9.276 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh). The Tasmanian Economic Regulator attributed the higher rate to increases in the wholesale electricity price and other national market costs.

For a Tasmanian homeowner, this dual change makes self-consuming solar power more valuable. The gap between the cost of buying electricity from the grid and the rate for selling it has widened, strengthening the financial case for using as much of your own solar generation as possible during the day or storing it in a battery for evening use.

Federal Government Expands Small-Scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES)

On 5 August 2026, the Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, announced a significant expansion of the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES), the program that provides an upfront discount on new solar systems through Small-scale Technology Certificates (STCs).

From 1 October 2026, the eligibility cap for the scheme will be lifted from 100 kilowatts (kW) to 1 megawatt (MW), a tenfold increase. Minister Bowen described the policy as unlocking rooftop solar for the “missing middle”—commercial and industrial buildings like factories, farms, and schools—which have vast, untapped roof space. The government estimates this will slash the installation cost for these medium-scale systems by around 20 per cent.

This change does not directly affect residential homeowners, whose systems are typically under 10 kW and were already well covered by the scheme. However, it marks a major federal policy shift intended to accelerate the uptake of renewable energy across the country.

National Developments Reinforce Value of Home Batteries

While there have been no recent changes to the federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program, which continues to offer a discount of around 30 per cent on new batteries, recent analysis from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has highlighted their growing importance.

In a report discussed in early August, AEMO reviewed data from 20,000 homes and found that households with both solar and battery storage drew 73 per cent less electricity from the grid during the critical evening peak (4 p.m. to 9 p.m.) compared to homes with solar panels alone. This demonstrates how home batteries can shield households from high evening power costs while simultaneously reducing strain on the national grid. This is particularly relevant for Tasmanians, as there is currently no additional state-level battery subsidy to stack with the federal program.

These recent developments highlight a clear trend: as grid electricity prices rise, the value of generating and storing your own solar power continues to increase for Tasmanian households.

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Published by Solar Generation Tasmania. General information current as at publication — rebates, tariffs and prices change, so confirm current figures before deciding.