$20m energy storage injection for Victoria

Victoria will make a large-scale investment in energy storage to support the state's power weak spots.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews

Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews has welcomed federal moves to give first homebuyers tax breaks. (AAP)

Victoria will ramp up investment in energy storage with an additional $20 million for large-scale projects.

The funding, an increase to an existing investment of $5 million, will support companies to boost storage to 100MW by the end of 2018.

Increased storage capacity will help secure electricity for weak spots on the Victorian grid, Premier Daniel Andrews says, pointing to the recent threat to central Victoria during a heatwave in NSW that absorbed increased power.

"In order to keep the lights on on the North Shore in Sydney, we almost had power taken away from Bendigo and central Victoria for many hours," he told reporters on Tuesday.

"This battery storage is one way, a really practical way, that we can make sure there is a strong grid and stable supplies and secure supply right across our state."

Energy Minister Lily D'Ambrosio said increased storage would offer energy security as the state moved to a heavier reliance on renewable energy.

A cabinet taskforce has also been created to make sure there is a "focus in government" on the challenges of electricity pricing, energy security and diversity, Mr Andrews said.

The taskforce was announced as Grattan Institute report found the national privatised electricity market had failed to deliver lower prices for consumers.

In Victoria, the profit margin for electricity retailers is about 13 per cent - more than double the margin regulators traditionally considered fair when they had responsibility for setting prices, according to the report.

However, Mr Andrews said it wasn't possible to go back to a state-run market because of the national energy market system.


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Source: AAP



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