A performance audit into whether Solar Victoria’s Solar Homes Program, which launched in August 2018, enabled households to control their power bills and reduce carbon emissions has found the Agency cannot yet report on its effectiveness.
In his Report, Delivering the Solar Homes Program, Auditor-General, Andrew Greaves said Solar Victoria, an entity within the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), couldn’t report on the Program’s effectiveness because it only finalised evaluation methodologies for it in April this year.
“During 2019, the program was oversubscribed, leading to pauses and disruptions to the solar sector,” Mr Greaves said.
“Known limitations of the grid to accept power from solar panels also limits benefits for program customers,” he said.
Mr Greaves said neither the Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC) nor DELWP developed a full business case for the Program, which meant Government lacked sound and comprehensive information to consider its merits.
The Auditor-General said Program planning was deficient as it failed to fully appreciate and effectively mitigate “obvious risks” of excess demand, market reliance and grid capacity.
He said that despite its size and complexity, only limited implementation planning had been undertaken when the Program started in August 2018.
“DPC had from April to July 2018 to design the $1.3 billion 10-year Program for commencement by August 2018,” he said.
“DPC advised that this timeframe did not allow it to develop a full business case.”
Mr Greaves said DPC’s Solar Homes Program Design and Options Report was insufficient to lay out and make the case for Government intervention.
“It was not a business case and did not explain why the best solution to the identified need of reducing Victorians’ energy costs is rebated solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, batteries and solar hot-water (SHW) systems,” he said.
Mr Greaves made five recommendations to DELWP, including that it develop an updated business case; include information on network constraints in public communications; resolve gaps in assurance controls; work with relevant regulators to ensure gaps in consumer protection are addressed; and review and confirm the soundness of its recently determined evaluation methodologies.
The Auditor-General’s 67-page Report can be accessed at this PS News link.
