Page 2962 - Week 09 - Thursday, 18 September 2014
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Over half of participating households surveyed as part of the review reported a reduction in their energy use resulting from the activities, and less than a third reported that they may have purchased these products within the next 12 months without the scheme. In addition, around a quarter of all households reported that their participation in the scheme led them to undertake further energy saving activities. Not only is this policy having a direct positive impact on ACT households but these households are also going on to seek out further savings themselves.
As technologies and consumer preferences change and as our understanding of them improves, it is important that scheme design and administrative arrangements keep pace. In the case of standby power controllers, the review notes incidents where consumers have not been satisfied with these products and a proportion of households have removed them shortly after installation. This is not entirely unexpected. The ACT’s ability to observe these practices in other jurisdictions such as Victoria has meant that we have been able to improve outcomes for participants in our scheme and ensure that such activities are appropriately incentivised. The work on this front is ongoing.
Taking stock of similar schemes across Australia, the review addresses the Victorian government’s recent decision to discontinue the so-called VEET, or Victorian energy efficiency target scheme, on the grounds that the benefits did not exceed the costs of the scheme. The review notes that the findings supporting the discontinuation of the Victorian scheme have been disputed by many stakeholders and further independent analysis indicates significant net benefits resulting from the scheme worth hundreds of millions of dollars per year. As a result, the Victorian opposition have committed to continuing the VEET scheme if they are elected later this year. Both South Australia and New South Wales, a Labor and a coalition administration, continue to support the continuation of their energy efficiency schemes.
Based on the success of the EEIS to date, the review highlights that there is a clear advantage in continuing the scheme. The scheme is complementary to the government’s focus on reducing the greenhouse gas intensity of the electricity grid and reducing cost of living pressures. Overall, the review concludes that considerable cost-effective energy efficiency opportunities remain in the ACT and the current level of ambition could likely be maintained through the continuation of the scheme beyond 2015.
The review also identifies potential changes that could benefit the future operation of the scheme. For example, reducing energy consumption through the scheme can reduce the costs associated with electricity use and support a 90 per cent renewable energy target. However, as that target substantially reduces the emissions intensity of the electricity grid, the review recommends the focus of the scheme may be better framed in terms of energy and/or cost savings, rather than greenhouse gas savings.
The review also highlights that obligated electricity retailers require long-term certainty regarding the future of the scheme to enable the implementation of a sustainable and effective business model. We know that investment certainty is fundamental to an efficient allocation of resources, to encouraging competition and to fostering innovation.
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