Energy security outcomes from uptake of renewable energy by pre-paid meter customers; An assessment of the Marlinja Community Solar Project.

Project summary

As Australia’s energy system is radically reconfigured, with close to 4 million households adopting rooftop solar, significant disparities in access, consumer protections and benefit distribution persist for First Nations’ energy customers. For many regional and remote First Nations’ communities where electricity prepayment supply arrangements are common, households must “top up” the meter or run the risk of sudden disconnection when the credit runs out. Facing regular disconnection - especially during periods of extreme heat - prepay households have long been underserved by solar power that would secure their own energy needs due to regulatory and financial barriers. While multiple studies have established links between energy insecurity and adverse health outcomes, and solar access to enhance energy security, the remedial potential of solar for prepayment-related energy insecurity in low-income First Nations’ communities has rarely been examined in Australia.