South Australia has asked the federal government to help fund plans for a new energy connector with the eastern states.
Premier Jay Weatherill says the July state budget will include half a million dollars for a feasibility study and has asked both major federal parties to match the funding.
He says the interconnector, estimated to cost between $300 million and $700 million, would allow SA to export more renewable energy and push down electricity bills in the long term.
"We're faced with a national energy market that is incomplete and in fact disadvantages South Australia for the amount of renewables it produces," Mr Weatherill told reporters on Tuesday.
"We produce more renewables that often we (can't) send into the system because of a lack of interconnection."
ElectraNet will conduct the feasibility study over the next 12 months.
An upgrade to the Heywood interconnector, which links SA with Victoria, is expected to be finished in August.
