South Australian Government to help large energy users cut energy costs 14 December 2016
Energy experts have welcomed the South Australian Government’s announcement that they will spend $31 million over two years to support up to 500 large South Australian businesses to use energy more efficiently and productively.
The Government's Energy Productivity Program is targeted at businesses that use more than 160MWh of electricity each year. It will help businesses get expert support to identify and implement actions that cut their energy costs and improve energy productivity.
The Energy Efficiency Council's CEO, Luke Menzel, said, "South Australia's large energy users know their businesses inside out. However, they sometimes don't have the time or specialised expertise to identify and implement energy savings measures. The Energy Productivity Program will help them quantify these opportunities, build a business case and translate that knowledge into action."
The Energy Productivity Program provides for:
- $7.5 million to cover 75 per cent of the cost of energy audits for up to 500 businesses
- $8.5 million to implement audit recommendations in at least 110 businesses with $75,000 grants on a one-to-one funding basis
- $15 million to implement at least six major energy saving opportunities, with grants of up to $2.5 million on a $1 of Government funding for $2 of business contribution basis.
The program is in line with recommendations made by the Energy Efficiency Council in the Australian Energy Efficiency Policy Handbook, released in July 2016.
"Energy efficiency upgrades can have benefits beyond cost savings on energy bills; they often also improve resource and process efficiency. That means pursuing energy efficiency can have a big productivity dividend for large energy users like manufacturers and miners," said Luke Menzel.
"Governments around the country are considering how they can work with large energy users to improve their energy efficiency and productivity. With their Energy Productivity Program, the South Australian Government has taken a leadership role in this effort," concluded Luke Menzel.