00:02Michelle Robinson hasn't paid a power bill in five years.
00:06The family home in Perth has solar and batteries,
00:10but as the kids move out, she's downsizing to an apartment.
00:14We are expecting our power bill to go up when we're moving to a smaller place, which is a bit
00:19strange.
00:20Michelle could soon pack her solar savings.
00:24Western Australia is the first state to give plug-in panels the green light.
00:28The government says it's a win for renters and people living in apartments.
00:33These systems are already extremely popular in Europe,
00:36where they're used by millions of households,
00:39and they come in a box and they plug into a standard wall socket.
00:42A basic plug-in solar system with a battery retails online for around 2,000 Australian dollars.
00:49The set would save households an estimated $500 a year, meaning it'll take four years to pay off.
00:59But electricians who are subject to strict checks and standards are worried about shoddy installations and potentially dodgy products.
01:07The things like electric scooters and they found out certain types of batteries were not good to be charged within
01:14a home.
01:15It'll be up to individual apartment complexes to put in place their own bylaws to ensure safety if they allow
01:22them at all.
01:23The last thing that we would like to see is for a storm to come through and those panels not
01:28be secured and get blown off and then potentially cause injury.
01:33Consultation on safety standards is just the first step in approving balcony solar.
01:37But the state government says it expects the technology to be plugged in by the end of next year.
01:43not much more for them now.
01:43Let's go.
