German battery manufacturer Sonnen has launched its fixed price energy deal in Victoria. SonnenFlat starts from a $42 monthly subscription that offers the customer all the electricity they can use for a fixed fee and reduces the upfront cost of investing in a home battery.
The cost and annual cap can differ depending on the deal, including 7,500kWh for $42 a month, 10,000kWh for $52 a month and 12,500kWh for $62 a month.
Currently available throughout New South Wales, South Australia, Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania and southeast Queensland, SonnenFlat will cover all of Victoria.
The SonnenFlat was introduced to the Australian marketplace in 2017 though a partnership with Sydney-based solar retailer and installer Natural Solar. The first system to be installed in Australia under this pricing structure saw a 10kWh sonnenBatterie Eco 8 paired with an upgraded rooftop system. This was calculated to save a family in NSW $2,000 on their electricity bills.
According Bo Gacic, another customer from Coromandel Valley, South Australia, SonnenFlat is effective protection against rising energy prices. “We used to pay about $5,600 each year for a household of five to our energy retailer even with our rooftop solar,” he says. “Our bills are now $42 per month and nothing has changed about the way we’re being supplied electricity.”
Noting that SonnenFlat eliminates bill shocks, Nathan Dunn, CEO of Sonnen Asia Pacific, says this is a winning value proposition for homeowners who are contemplating rooftop solar and energy storage and want some level of surety regarding the payback of their investment. “By combining a solar system, SonnenBatterie and a SonnenFlat energy plan, this will meet 100% of the annual energy requirements for many households,” says Dunn.
For the month of June 2019, Sonnen will offer a SonnenFlat Energy Bundle where customers signing up for SonnenFlat can claim $1,000 off their new battery purchase. Details of the SonnenFlat Energy Bundle are available here.
With such offers, the Shell-owned battery manufacturer is seeking to grow its community Down Under. Its plans are to orchestrate its behind-the-meter batteries into a virtual power plant and contribute to increased grid reliability. In addition to supplying storage systems in South Australia as part of the state government’s VPP under a five-year deal,, Sonnen aims to sell the equivalent of a gas-fired peaking power station into the national grid.
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