Origin Energy has launched a suite of new home battery-based products to capture its share of the around 175,000 households, and counting, adding storage under the federal rebate. Just don’t mention “virtual power plants.”
The two new offers and revamped existing offer are called Battery Starter, Battery Maximiser and Battery Lite, and offer a range of tariffs and different levels of third-party control to support energy management and export earnings.
But perhaps the most notable feature of the new products is how Origin is marketing them: with a focus on consumer control and asset optimisation, and by distancing them from “virtual power plants” – even if only by name.
The move appears to be part of a broader rebranding exercise happening across the industry, which has found that – even with the combination of heavily discounted batteries and disappearing solar feed-in tariffs – VPPs remain a tough sell.
As One Step Off The Grid has reported, VPPs are still dogged by major trust issues, with high up-front costs and complex offers leaving customers reluctant to hand over control of their solar and battery assets.
This is unfortunate, because the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) is counting on consumers to join VPPs to help rein in the huge rooftop solar resource that so far remains largely beyond of its control.
The federal rebate has gone some way to helping to crack the VPP nut by requiring batteries installed through the scheme to be VPP ready, but it is not compulsory to join one.
Increasingly, experts have warned that VPPs will fail without an industry overhaul that puts consumers first and rebuilds consumer trust.
Origin’s general manager of Electrify and New Connections, Chris Zondanos, says the gentailer’s new suite of home battery products has been designed with customer needs front of mind – including a major shift to electrification.
“We’ve seen an exponential increase in customers asking for battery quotes since the federal government’s battery rebate announcement,” Zondanos says.
“Based on current trends, we expect to help more than one million Australian households electrify their homes by 2030.
“We’re helping households benefit from their electrification investment, without needing to ride the wave of the energy wholesale market or pay subscription fees.”
Two of the three battery products are, in fact, linked in with Origin’s existing VPP, Origin Loop, which as of June 2025, has a combined capacity of 1.5 gigawatts (GW) across more than 393,000 customer assets.
The revamped existing VPP-linked product, Battery Lite, offers up to $400 value in the first year, paying customers $1/kWh to export energy when the grid needs it (up to 200kWh annually) – and is available with any Origin electricity plan. Battery Lite also offers a $200 bill credit to new customers who sign up.
The new VPP-linked product, Battery Maximiser, is offers a peak FiT (feed-in tariff) of 22c/kWh and automated charging and exporting, “helping customers tap into uncapped exports and earnings,” says Zandanos.
“Battery Maximiser has been tested, trialled and evolved with customer feedback,” he says.
“We’ll continue to innovate, listen to our customers and develop products that are truly useful for Australians on this electrification revolution.”
The third product, Battery Starter, really is VPP free, or as the website puts it: “No frills, no VPP, just a straightforward energy plan for those who want to stay in control of their eligible solar and battery.”
Origin says Battery Starter targets customers who prefer manual control of their solar abattery, offering a peak FiT of 18c/kWh and uncapped solar and battery exports.
To find out more about Origin’s solar battery offerings, including eligibility criteria and full product information, click here. Origin also offers a Home Assessment Tool for customers looking into electrification options.
Sophie is editor of One Step Off The Grid and editor of its sister site, Renew Economy. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.
