A Queensland couple have slashed their electricity bill to just $20 a quarter despite using more energy than ever. The couple took advantage of rebates to buy solar panels and batteries, with thousands of Aussies able to cash in.

Ben Holliday and his partner Myrella have saved $1,300 on their electricity bills since installing a solar battery system on their Brisbane home in May this year. Holliday told Yahoo Finance the couple just qualified for the government’s rebate scheme before it ended.

“It’s a 13.5 kWh battery Tesla Powerwall 2 and it would have cost us $14,000 but we were able to utilise the Queensland Government’s battery booster scheme so we got a $3,000 rebate on that,” the 31-year-old shared.

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While the government’s cashback offer ended in May, battery provider VoltX is offering households in a state a $1,600 rebate off the upfront costs of installing a battery. This mirrors the $1,600 rebate offered to NSW residents.

Holliday, mechanical designer and project manager, said the couple now had a ton of free power they could tap into and had actually increased how much energy they were consuming.

“We still move all our loads to during the day to utilise the solar as much as possible so washing machines, hot water, all that kind of thing,” he said.

“We’ve also done some other energy efficiency upgrades to the house like insulation and more modern air conditioner.

“So now we have the house set at 23C year round and it’s not costing us anything really.”

Holliday said the savings were coming in handy amid rising costs.

Holliday said their mortgage was the biggest cost the couple was facing, with interest rates increasing multiple times since they settled on their home.

“Our mortgage is about $3,500 a month at the moment. So it’s far and away the biggest expense we’ve got,” he said.

“I think the only thing that would come close would be $500 of rates every quarter. That’s probably the next biggest one or insurance for the house or for the cars.”

What solar battery rebates are available in Australia?

There are a range of state-based incentives on offer for solar batteries.

New South Wales offers rebates of between $770 to $1,150 for a 6.5 kWh battery, and $1,600 to $2,400 for a 13.5 kWh battery battery.

The NT gives eligible homeowners and businesses a grant of $400 per kilowatt hour of usable battery system capacity, up to a maximum of $5,000.