17 June 2020

ACTPLA forces solar company out of market

| sybil
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I called this morning to arrange a quote for installation of solar panels from a reputable company. When I said I was in Canberra, the salesperson told me that regrettably the company had decided they would no longer provide services in the ACT.

I would like to congratulate the salesperson on their obvious efforts in restraining themselves as they explained the reason: ACTPLA’s obstructionism and fees. I gather things are easier over the border.

Has anyone else had a similar experience lately? Has there been an increase in price everywhere or is ACT government skimming off energy efficiency?

If you’re looking for more information on installing solar panels, check out our recently updated article on the best solar panel installers in Canberra.

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Can anyone suggest a reputable company? I live just outside the ACT and am looking for someone who can install quality solar panels at a reasonable price and on time…

So in the ACT, the contractor installing the system installs the metering also? from what I knew ACTEW were still installing/upgrading the metering to handle grid connect pv systems.
Id also be pretty sure that in worst case scenario ACTPLA and ACTEW would only accept limited liability if the system was to fail and cause damage. As with any electrical work in Australia the licensed sparkie has to sign off that he/she has self certified the installation and it meets the relevant Australian Standards. An inspection will not always show up every fault/questionable workmanship in an installation. The ultimate responsibilty will always come down the person who installed the system.

Thanks everyone for the info and advice, I’m reassured it’s not going to be a headache. I had certainly had no problems booking other companies.

luke, that was just the inspections – all the installation was done by the solar panel people.

The great advantage is that the ACTPLA and ACTEW inspections transfer responsibility to them for certifying the work that’s been done properly.

georgesgenitals10:30 pm 06 May 10

chewy14 said :

The idea is the locals have been trying to overstep the powers given to them by the Federal government because they didn’t get what they wanted.
Now they can go and have a cry if they want to but it won’t change anything.
People in Canberra who want gay marriage (or indeed anything else that the ACT government doesn’t have the power to legislate for), should be lobbying the Federal government where the powers lie.
The local council should be concentrating on finishing some roadworks, building some new houses and other councilly stuff. Geddit?

Well said. Stanhope needs to take off the cape and get back to providing essential services as efficiently as possible.

Thanks 54-11, those prices seem alright, considering the cost of a decent dual element meter or dual register meter is up around the $250-$300 mark, throw in an hour or so of labour to install it and yeah.. seems like a good deal to me. Then there is the cost of doing an inspection of the system, which doesnt take very long but is essential.

Yes Sepi they should.
But i’m not holding my breath for that either.

Or – if the Feds want to run our laws and morals, they should fund us as well?

Did you really just compare Gay marriage to gassing Jews Woody?

I’ve heard of drawing a long bow but that is just ridiculous. Let me know when the Federales set up those shower blocks and then get back to me OK?

The idea is the locals have been trying to overstep the powers given to them by the Federal government because they didn’t get what they wanted.
Now they can go and have a cry if they want to but it won’t change anything.
People in Canberra who want gay marriage (or indeed anything else that the ACT government doesn’t have the power to legislate for), should be lobbying the Federal government where the powers lie.
The local council should be concentrating on finishing some roadworks, building some new houses and other councilly stuff. Geddit?

Woody Mann-Caruso12:05 pm 06 May 10

Seeing as we are beholden to our federal overlords with regards to Gay marriage I think the locals could probably find better things to do with their time than trying to find ways to get around it.

Seeing as we are beholden to our federal overlords with regards to child labour I think the locals could probably find better things to do with their time than trying to find ways to get around it.

Seeing as we are beholden to our federal overlords with regards to giving women the vote I think the locals could probably find better things to do with their time than trying to find ways to get around it.

Seeing as we are beholden to our federal overlords with regards to making black people sit at the back of the bus I think the locals could probably find better things to do with their time than trying to find ways to get around it.

Seeing as we are beholden to our federal overlords with regards to gassing Jews I think the locals could probably find better things to do with their time than trying to find ways to get around it.

luke 79, the cost for our 1.8kw installation was $180 for ACTPLA and $162 for ACTEW.

I reckon that these were reasonable costs for ensuring that the installation was done properly and there were no risks (a la the insulation program).

deezagood said :

Jeez would it really be such a stretch to have gay marriages AND accessable/affordable solar power???

How about neither Deeza?

Seeing as we are beholden to our federal overlords with regards to Gay marriage I think the locals could probably find better things to do with their time than trying to find ways to get around it.
And as for solar, if these small PV systems were in any way economically viable without massive subsidies from the rest of us, i’d be all for it. But currently all we have is a growing layer of smug from well off people thinking that they are “doing something” for the environment whilst everyone else is footing the bill.

deezagood said :

Jeez would it really be such a stretch to have gay marriages AND accessable/affordable solar power???

Are you crazy?! these two issues are quite obviously mutually exclusive.

Make your choice people!

Holden Caulfield10:39 am 06 May 10

+1 to deezagood & Vision2010

Thoroughly Smashed9:59 am 06 May 10

Special G said :

If red tape and costs were the problem for the company they would simply bill you more. I look at it as they just couldn’t be bothered getting your business.

This. The playing field is still level if it’s a regulatory matter; it affects all operators equally. If they have trouble with the regulations, I imagine it’s more likely to be their ability to comply rather than their willingness to.

Just had solar panels installed – nil problems on any front. The company was recommended by a friend and operates in the ACT. Find another company that is willing to do the work for you. If red tape and costs were the problem for the company they would simply bill you more. I look at it as they just couldn’t be bothered getting your business.

Bosworth said :

Let me guess – you’re a 40-something white male married christian heterosexual homeowner with children?

… who are being doomed to an uninhabitable planet.

Bosworth, does being a 40-something white male married Christian heterosexual homeowner with children, who probably also pays taxes and votes, not also deserve legislation that reflects his concerns?

+1 to aurelius and bosworth

Jeez would it really be such a stretch to have gay marriages AND accessable/affordable solar power???

I was thinking CraigT would be younger than 40, im gonna aim for 34.
Would be interesting to to find out exactly what ACTPLA are charging. Im not in the ACT but I work within the electricity metering industry and have been involved with grid connect solar systems for some time. I have heard that many of the companies cashing in on the rush for people to go ‘green’ are a little less than honest with their products abilities and their abilities to pay their sub contractors installing the systems.
Whilst I agree it is important for the government and various electricity providers to encourage the exploration of solar generation. Rushing the whole process by way of rebates is leading to a lot of problems including safety issues which will be ongoing.
I am by no means against grid connected solar systems. I just think the government has handled it poorly, in similar ways to the insulation scheme.

Clean energy obviously should be a high priority, and probably concerns everyone more directly than some other issues (doesn’t mean other issues are any less worthwhile) but I think it’s a decent point to make that the ACT government makes a lot of fuss over these things with pretty average results..

CraigT – What part of hydro electricity is not renewable?

CraigT said :

It’s worth pointing out that while the ACT Government obsesses about homosexual “marriages” for the benefit of the 18 Canberrans who give a toss, and while they pursue the expensive ideological vendetta against Calvary Hospital’s provision of morality-based healthcare services, we remain the Australian state/territory producing the LEAST of our power needs from renewable sources. I think we manage to average about 2%.

Yes, even those red-necked Queenslanders produce more renewable power than the politically-correct hypocrites who run the ACT Government.

Not sure if you have noticed by the ACT is quite small in land mass and devoid of the natural resources (other than the sun and wind) to produce large quantities of renewable energy. So 2% is not all that bad I would have thought.

As for your other whinges, especially about Calvary hospital why should the government not have a say. After all the ACT tax payer is paying for the service, so why not provide services to everyone without the Catholic crap. If Catholics don’t want the services then that should be their choice.

I’m a very strident critic of ACTPLA – I reckon they are generally hopeless.

However, when we recently had solar panels installed, all the work liaising with ACTPLA was done by the installer, and ACTPLA actually appeared to do their job well.

I’d be interested to knowmore fully the concerns of the company in question. My parents did their homework and put in solar panels last year with a “reputable company” (not sure which one) without any problems, other than having to wait a while for ACTEW to hook ’em up so they could start feeding back into the grid.

Its probably symptomatic of the “too little government oversight VS too much” debate. Either we have a schemes such as the disastrous federal govt insulation scheme for example, where unscrupulous businesses put profit before safety or ethics, or, we have heavy government regulation …. which is then deemed “obstructionism”. At least the later might protect people. Private industry has a lot to answer for the environmental schemes debacle.

The cat did it5:16 pm 05 May 10

The only reason Queensland produced any significant renewable energy is because they have some useful-sized hydro-electric generation capacity- something lacking in the ACT. More information on the actual charges and administrative practices at issue, please. It might change this story from a whinge to a substantive complaint capable of reddening some ACTPLA faces.

A workmate recently fitted solar panels and was told by the (NSW North coast-based) provider that they were not going to provide service in the ACT any longer for exactly the reasons outlined in OP.

Three months is a pretty long wait for approval of six light-weight panels and some basic electrical work.

It used to be the case that you needed approval for a solar hot water system too, anyone know if that is still the case? It basically meant (means) that anyone replacing a defunct hot water service dod (does) not have the option to go solar unless they had the incredible foresight to seek pre-approval.

Gungahlin Al5:14 pm 05 May 10

CraigT: Calvary can provide all the morality based healthcare they want – off their own purse, as with other private hospitals the country wide.

To have millions every year from the public purse pumped into a hospital that is discriminatory in its services walks a hazardous line on the church/state separation divide. The state should be free of religious beliefs, yet here we have a publicly funded hospital that refuses contraceptive procedures based on religious grounds.

An extreme but comparative example would be to have public funding going to a hospital run by Jehovah’s Witnesses that refuses to do blood transfusions, based on their religious beliefs.

I’m not saying anything about those respective religious beliefs, just that I believe they should play no part in a publicly-funded hospital operation.

And yes I’ll declare that I’d like to see the ACT Government walk away from any thought of buying Calvary in favour of starting over in Gungahlin.

Waiting For Godot5:09 pm 05 May 10

trix said :

+1 to Bosworth.

+2

Had CraigT mentioned one of the time and money wasting activities of the ACT gov’t which isn’t based on the discrimination of a minorities sexual preference, then I suggest he would have universal support.

Personally, I think that encouraging renewable energy would be a more important goal then either non-productive windmills (public art) or obscure coded street signs (drive n txt…).

That’s not to say that PVs on every house is necessarily the way to go, but it does develop the market, which I do think is the way to go.

Aurelius said :

CraigT’s got a good point though Bosworth. The Stanhope regime is obsessed with stuff that dooesn’t really matter, and neglects its core responsibilities of governing.

+1 to Aurelius

+1 to Bosworth.

CraigT’s got a good point though Bosworth. The Stanhope regime is obsessed with stuff that dooesn’t really matter, and neglects its core responsibilities of governing.

CraigT, perhaps you would be more concerned about legislative discrimination if you had experiened it too?

Let me guess – you’re a 40-something white male married christian heterosexual homeowner with children?

It’s worth pointing out that while the ACT Government obsesses about homosexual “marriages” for the benefit of the 18 Canberrans who give a toss, and while they pursue the expensive ideological vendetta against Calvary Hospital’s provision of morality-based healthcare services, we remain the Australian state/territory producing the LEAST of our power needs from renewable sources. I think we manage to average about 2%.

Yes, even those red-necked Queenslanders produce more renewable power than the politically-correct hypocrites who run the ACT Government.

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