Sydney households are increasingly turning to home batteries to combat soaring electricity costs, as discounts set to reduce in government rebates could leave families facing hundreds of dollars in additional annual expenses.
New research from Green.com.au using ABS Energy Account data reveals government rebates paid 22.4 per cent of household electricity bills in 2024 to 2025, more than double the share a year earlier, at a cost of $5.5 billion.
Universal rebates ended in December 2025, and the average home now pays an estimated $580 a year more than in 2024-25.
The findings also spotlit electricity prices rose 12.8 per cent in the year to September 2026, which the ABS attributed largely to the end of Commonwealth rebates.
Energy solutions provider VoltX has seen a sharp 350 per cent increase in households inquiring about a home battery installation before the federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program discount falls by 16 per cent or around $900 from January 1, 2027 on December 31.
For Horsley Park resident David Sellen, investing in home batteries has transformed what was once an increasingly expensive electricity bill, with extended family from children and grandchildren often visiting that can see up to 12 people in their home at one time.
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David Snellan with his home battery system
“At the moment, it’s just my wife and myself living at home but we have a very large extended family that arrive all the time,” he said.
“I suppose it’s an open door policy, people come and go.
“The other living quarters that I had at home has now been turned into basically the family band practice and craft area – they’ve set up their computers and their band stuff and so two or three nights a week there’ll be people chewing up my electricity.”
Mr Snellan has now slashed his power bill from around $4,000 – with six batteries and two solar panels, adding if he keeps a consistent feed could take the bill to $0 within two years.
“My last monthly bill was only $59,” he said.
“It’s reading the batteries a lot better now, so I’m actually getting a better price for my feed in electricity, which is actually reducing it,” he said.
“Looking at the numbers on the app this month I should be in credit and if that keeps going, it doesn’t matter if it’s only a couple of dollars in credit that’s one less bill I’ve got to pay and if that keeps going, the batteries will be paid for themselves within two years.”
However, he said to go off grid completely, he would likely have to spend another $10,000 to put more battery and the more solar on.
“That’s a bit hard when you retire to find that extra pennies,” he said.
“But at the moment, the six batteries which is 60 kilowatts, the 20 kilowatts of solar I have on the roof, with the supplier I have, if they give me a consistent feed in rate for the power that I’m putting back into the grid, which is quite a lot, then that should give me basically a $0 bill.”
VoltX Energy Chief Operating Officer David Sedighi said households were becoming increasingly focused on controlling recurring household expenses before generous government rebates were further reduced.
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VoltX say they have seen a 350 per cent increase in households inquiring about a home battery installation before the federal government discounts fall
“We’ve seen a marked 350 per cent increase in households inquiring about a home battery installation before the federal Cheaper Home Batteries Program discount falls by 16 per cent or around $900 from January 1, 2027,” Mr Sedighi said.
“Homes in suburbs like Marsden Park, Rouse Hill, Baulkham Hills, Liverpool, Blacktown, Werrington and Campbelltown are now leading home battery uptake, while neighbouring leafy suburbs such as Ryde are only now beginning to get on board.
“Gosford on the Central Coast is also emerging as a major battery market outside of Sydney.”
“You can now install a 28kWh battery set up for under $4000, which would make the average household completely self-reliant from the grid immediately and the return on investment realised in around two years.”
Mr Sedighi warned households considering a home battery not to wait or risk missing out.
“When the rebate dropped earlier this year we saw many consumers miss the deadline, because the battery has to be installed, not just ordered,” he said.
“There’s about 10 weeks to get yourself sorted and it’s not a lot of time.”
According to VoltX, NSW is Australia’s leading state for household battery capacity, with homes holding 2,911 MWh of battery storage at the end of March 2026.
“With a Virtual Power Plant (VPP), we are seeing many households not only fully eliminate their power bills, but actually sell to the grid.”
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