Townsville social housing provider Yumba-Meta participated in a program to provide its tenants with solar at no upfront cost to them.
Kara is one of the participating tenants and says getting the solar has been a blessing. After moving into an all-electric home with solar she says her bills have come down from around $550 per quarter for gas and electricity to now $230.
“This is a major drop for me. I’m finding it a blessing because I can manage my bill now,” said Kara.
“In my last house we were really worried about our electricity and gas bills because they were our biggest bills aside from rent. Even though we were really diligent in turning everything off after we finished using it, prices started going up and we were struggling.
“It was hard to fit the electricity and gas bill into a single income. At times it felt like we had to choose between cooking food and using electricity. We even bought new electric appliances to rely less on gas because it was so expensive.
“Since moving into this house I’m not worried about the electricity we use. I’m happy. The solar has been a helping hand in my pocket. Now I don’t have to rob Peter to pay for Paul, so to speak.
“I think landlords should help tenants get solar because it makes it easier for them to pay rent. There have been times before where I had to ask for a rent extension because an electricity bill was due. Now that doesn’t happen.”