Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .
Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1999 Week 8 Hansard (24 August) . . Page.. 2336 ..
MR HIRD (5.26): I had the great honour and pleasure of representing the Government in launching the GreenChoice program on behalf of the Minister for Urban Services. GreenChoice is a trailblazing program which has been instituted by ACTEW Corporation. I was surprised that Ms Tucker was not at this launching because I know of her interests in environmental issues. However, it was a pleasure to undertake the launching, especially as it took place in the wonderful environment of Lake Burley Griffin.
To that end, without going on about the various schemes and how they work, I would like to commend John Mackay, the chief executive of ACTEW, and the board and staff of ACTEW for the enthusiast way in which they have embraced this program. It is just the start. They have a target of in the order of 2,000 clients for the GreenChoice program. They are well on the way to achieving that target and I compliment them for that. I am speaking about the program in the adjournment debate because I want it to be seen that this Government is indeed working through organisations such as ACTEW to bring about good environmental changes. On that note, I ask for leave to incorporate in Hansard a facts sheet about the GreenChoice program.
Leave granted.
The document read as follows:
some greenchoice facts
What is GreenChoice?
GreenChoice is ACTEW's green energy product for retail customers. GreenChoice buys electricity which is produced in a way that does not harm the environment.How is electricity distributed?
Generators produce energy which is fed into the electricity transmission network (the grid) and users draw power from the grid as they need it. Because it is not possible to store energy on a large scale, the grid managers constantly balance the output of generators with the demand for power.How does the scheme work?
GreenChoice accounts are an instruction to ACTEW to purchase energy from independently certified renewable sources over a period of time. The percentage of your energy needs matched by green energy purchases on our part is calculated according to the GreenChoice option you choose and the daily cap on energy usage. A conventional account instructs ACTEW to purchase energy under normal supply contracts, where costs favour energy from coal. Once electricity is fed into the grid it becomes part of a common pool. Customers choosing GreenChoice permit ACTEW to buy a level of green energy which otherwise ACTEW would not purchase.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . .