THE electorate of Macquarie is now amongst Australia’s leading places for the uptake of cheaper home batteries, with one in ten households now the proud owner of a home battery.

Federal Member for Macquarie, Susan Templeman, said the strong uptake by Emu Plains, Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury homeowners follows the Federal Government program, which reduces the cost of batteries to homes and small businesses by around a third.

“More than 5,200 households across Macquarie have now installed a cheaper home battery, making us the sixth electorate across Australia to surpass that 1 in 10 milestone,” Ms Templeman said.

“This is terrific progress and means households can store the cheaper, cleaner energy they generate during the day and use it when they need it most, including during the evening peak.

“But even if you don’t have a battery, there are benefits for the whole community.

“These home batteries mean there is less pressure on the grid at peak times, lower reliance on expensive generation, and downward pressure on prices for everyone.

Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, said “504,470—that’s how many Australians have put in a cheaper home battery in the last 12 months. Australia is now the home battery capital of the world.”

Ms Templeman said the government was expanding the support for small to medium businesses to install batteries.

“Australian small and medium-sized businesses are set to have greater access to discounted finance for energy bill-saving equipment, with ANZ and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) expanding their successful partnership by an additional $150 million,” she said.

“The additional funding will help more businesses invest in assets including rooftop solar, battery storage, electric vehicles, energy efficient equipment and recycling technology, reducing operating costs while improving productivity.”

More information on these programs is available at energy.gov.au.