Decision on solar panels tariff due

About 10,000 Tasmanian households that have rooftop solar panels are worried they will lose a generous feed-in tariff offered by Aurora Energy when the state-owned energy retailer is disbanded and replaced with two private retailers next year. 

Aurora gives customers 27 a kilowatt of electricity pumped into the grid, significantly higher than what's on offer in other states with Queensland slashing it to 8.

Mr Green said yesterday he was considering Treasury's advice and would make a decision soon, repeating assurances that the solar feed-in tariff would not be scrapped entirely and transitional arrangements would be put in place for households that already have solar panels installed. 

Mr Green said it was important to balance the expectations of the households reaping the financial benefits of the solar feed-in tariff with the rest of the customers who inevitably must bear the cost through higher power prices. 

He said homeowners generating their own electricity were already saving by not having to pay for the electricity they generated and used themselves. 

The Greens are pushing for the existing 27  rate to be maintained for two years for existing solar panel owners and accused the Liberal Party of adding to the uncertainty by refusing to detail its position. 

``The Liberals' game here is to avoid committing to a position, in an attempt to create further uncertainty among homeowners and industry players, for the benefit of the Liberal Party,'' Greens energy spokesman Kim Booth said.

Liberal energy spokesman Matthew Groom said they would ``continue to pressure the Labor-Green government to provide immediate assurances to both investors and industry including with respect to appropriate grandfathering of current arrangements''.