AGL Energy claims it wants to rent out storage batteries, the Company who has lifted electricity charges significantly during the past 12 months is set to compete with US Company Telsa who is currently talking to Australian distributors about the distribution of large storage batteries in Australia.
The US Company is set to start rolling out a storage offering in the USA in the last quarter of 2015.
Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk unveiled a suite of batteries to store electricity for homes, businesses and utilities last week, he said that his new offering which is manufactured by Panasonic, will reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
Tesla’s home batteries will be delivered at prices starting from $3,000, the company said.
Panasonic who are making the batteries for Telsa were not available to comment as to whether they will take on distribution in Australia of a storage battery that can be sold via hardware stores and electrical retailers.
ChannelNews understands that the batteries havbe to be installed by a certified electrician.
Recently the Federal Court fined AGL Sales and AGL South Australia $1.555 million for illegal door-to-door selling practices, following action by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
CPM Australia Pty Ltd, the marketing company used by the AGL companies, was also ordered to pay $200,000 for its role in the conduct.
AGL who were selective in the issuing of their press release announcing the new offering claims that they will debut a 6 kilowatt-hour home storage battery, challenging Tesla Motors which announced 7- and 10-kWh model son Friday.
AGL’s suitcase-sized battery will use lithium-ion cells and come with extended warranties and finance plans to make it affordable, the company said in a website statement.
It’ll be suitable for a family home with solar panels providing 3 to 4.5 kilowatts of power, AGL said. It’s the first such product to be offered by an Australian energy retailer.
AGL’s product “will provide consumers with backup for essential home services such as lighting, refrigeration and communications,” Ed Lynch-Bell, AGL’s lead for energy storage, said in the statement. That will help iron out “potential disruptions of energy supply,” he said.
AGL recently tried to generate a positive PR spin when they said that they would shut their coal plants in Victoria within 35 years while expanding its investments in renewable energy.
