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From 1 July 2018, the Essential Services Commission (ESC) has announced that energy retailers in Victoria must offer at least one of two feed-in tariffs (FiTs):

• the time varying FiT and/or
• the single-rate FiT

The single-rate FiT represents a 1.4 c/kWh reduction from the current minimum rate of 11.3 c/kWh. The ESC explain:

"When calculating the single-rate FiT, prices during daylight hours are weighted to account for how much electricity solar PV units typically export at different times of day (the ‘solar export profile’). Prices are forecast to be higher at the start and the end of the day, when solar is exporting less. By contrast, in the middle of the day, when prices are forecast to dip, solar is exporting the most. This explains why the single-rate FiT is slightly lower than the rate during the shoulder period of the time-varying FiT, even though both rates are based on prices during broadly the same time of day."

The introduction of time-varying FiTs is a great opportunity for consumers to take control of their energy usage and maximise the benefits of going solar. Installing energy monitoring software enables solar households to turn appliances on during off-peak and shoulder periods and export during peak periods, where possible.

Jim's Energy are proud to partner with Emberpulse, an industry leader in home energy management systems.  Emberpulse tracks your solar production and consumption and can remotely control your air conditioning, lights and connected appliances, anywhere and anytime.

Emberpulse even comes with a $500 energy saving guarantee. It is guaranteed to find you at least $500 in energy savings over three years, including identifying a better energy plan, diagnosing inefficiencies in your solar system and automating your energy usage, all with the single focus to save you money.

Interested in maximising the new FiT structure with solar and energy monitoring? Get in touch today!