ENERGY BILL NEEDS NEW RUNNING SHOES

Wednesday, 10 June 2009 01:22

“The NSW Government is taking a bold step towards future-proofing the state,” said Jeff Angel, TEC Director. “There are, however, some concerns that the plug can be pulled too easily.”

The Electricity Supply Amendment (Energy Savings) Bill places a requirement on NSW electricity retailers to purchase or implement energy savings to achieve an overall reduction on total energy sales of 4% by 2014. It allows the Minister to reduce the target for ‘harmonisation’ with other schemes or if retailers are paying the penalty instead of saving energy.  It also provides exemptions for electricity intensive trade exposed industry.

“Energy efficiency is a winner for consumers because it reduces electricity bills while delivering the same or better services.  It’s also a winner for the environment because it’s the fastest, most cost-effective way to reduce greenhouse emissions. Australia has been lagging behind other countries on efficiency, but this will help us catch up,” said Mr Angel.

“While the Scheme is a step in the right direction, NSW’s energy policy is a mess: the Energy Minister is allowing Government-owned electricity networks to spend $17 billion on expanding their polluting infrastructure over the next 5 years. This will raise electricity bills, increase emissions and counter the energy savings achieved by the Energy Savings Scheme.  We need to make sure that energy efficiency is the first and enduring choice.”