“The matter remains in dispute, as it was not resolved by the complaints process, and it has been brought before the rulings panel,” the panel says in its decision released yesterday"
The electricity market's rulings panel will hear a complaint from SEANZ Member solarcity against the distributed generation tariff, referred to as the "solar tax" that penalises solar users and was put in place by Unison.
The rulings panel process allows for dealing with appeals from complaints about breaches or possible breaches of the electricity code. The original complaint lodged by solarcity claimed Unison unfairly disadvantaged solar customers and breached the Electricity Industry Participation Code’s rules on distributed generation charges. This followed the complaint lodged bySEANZ and solar users including a social housing development using solar in the Hawkes Bay, based on a breach of the Distributed Generation rules and regulations.
“The matter remains in dispute, as it was not resolved by the complaints process, and it has been brought before the rulings panel,” the panel says in its decision released yesterday"
In a media release from solarcity, CEO Andy Booth said "“For months, we have been fighting for our right to challenge the legality of Unison’s tax which wrongfully disadvantages solar users." “It's only fair that this dispute is heard by an independent body, something Unison has done its best to prevent."
“Unison is discriminating against its smartest, most energy aware customers and is charging up to an extra $239 per year without providing any extra services. That effectively makes it a tax on solar,” said Booth
You can read the full release from solarcity here
You can download and/or read the decision from the rulings panel here.