01.Action needed to cut bills
CHOICE has joined a coalition of welfare, community, research and business groups calling for a national energy efficiency program to reduce household energy bills.
The proposals, Energy efficiency and affordability for Australian households, call on the Federal Government to commit to implement a National Energy Savings Initiative, designed to ensure it results in actual reductions in energy prices.
The National Energy Savings Initiative is a scheme recommended in the 2010 report of the Prime Minister’s Task Group on Energy Efficiency, currently awaiting a response from the Federal Government. The report says that a scheme of this type, which would bring together existing measures in states around Australia, could save households up to $296 a year in 2020.
The proposals also call on the Federal Government to deliver energy efficiency improvements to assist low-income households in the transition to a carbon price. This follows last week’s confirmation of energy price rises in NSW of 17.3% from 1 July 2011, just the latest increase around Australia driven largely by costly energy infrastructure upgrades.
CHOICE believes that opportunities to reduce energy demand are being passed up, despite clear evidence that action can be taken to avoid network expansion and reduce costs for households.