Victorian tenants to benefit from new push on energy efficiency 14 August 2017
The Victorian Government’s announcement that it is ramping up support for commercial buildings to improve their energy performance is good news for tenants, the Energy Efficiency Council says.
Council CEO Luke Menzel welcomed the announcement of $1.7 million of funding under the Government’s new Better Commercial Buildings program.
"For many years Australians have been the beneficiaries of very low electricity prices. However, the low cost of supply meant that not much attention was paid to how productively that energy was being used.”
“Unfortunately, the unit cost of energy has skyrocketed over recent years. While energy prices are unlikely to return to their historic lows, the good news is that we can keep bills down by embracing energy efficiency.”
Announced by Victorian Energy Minister Lily D'Ambrosio at a function for Dandenong businesses this morning, the new program makes grants of up to $30,000 available to help offices, hotels and retail centres with the cost of implementing energy efficiency projects.
Mr. Menzel said focusing on improving energy performance in the face of rising energy costs is a smart move.
“In Australia, it's generally tenants who pay the energy bills. That means that good energy performance is going to be increasingly important for buildings owners that are competing for tenants in the office market.”
“Interest in energy efficiency is rising along with energy prices; this program will help smart building owners get ahead of that curve.”
Media contact
Luke Menzel
M: 0433 237 293
E: luke.menzel@eec.org.au