15 May 2013: The Sydney Morning Herald reported the Energy Efficiency Council criticising the Government for their bizarre move to save a few million dollars by closing the Community Energy Efficiency Program and Low-Income Energy Efficiency Program early.

To read the Sydney Morning Herald article entitled, ‘Poor lose out in energy efficiency cuts’ by Peter Hannam, click here.

What did the Energy Efficiency Council say about the 2013-14 federal budget – how does clean energy fare?

The Energy Efficiency Council has slammed the Gillard Government’s decision to cut funding for the Community Energy Efficiency Program.

“The Community Energy Efficiency Program was vital to help community organisations and local governments cope with rising energy bills. The Government’s decision to cut around $90 million from this program to shore up their budget is another backflip that hurts the vulnerable,” said Rob Murray-Leach, CEO of the Energy Efficiency Council.

Energy prices have risen rapidly in the past five years, largely due to poorly regulated network companies and rising peak demand. Energy efficiency programs are critical to help households, businesses and community organisations cope with rising energy prices.

Boosting energy efficiency would:

• Save households and businesses over $5 billion a year on energy costs; and
• Help keep energy bills affordable by reducing peak demand, which reduces wholesale energy prices and reduces the need for expensive infrastructure. Currently, 25 per cent of total energy bills are driven by peak demand periods that last less than 40 hours a year;

Rising energy prices in California lead the government to introduce strong energy efficiency programs. As a result, although Californians face high energy prices they have the lowest energy bills in the US.

The Gillard Government introduced a number of programs in 2011 to help homes, businesses and community organisations save money. While the highly-effective business program is still running, the Government clawed back money from the Community Energy Efficiency Program, which supports the most vulnerable parts of our community.

“There has been a strong consensus between Labor and the Coalition that energy efficiency helps households with cost-of-living pressures and makes businesses more competitive. This baffling decision is a disaster for community organisations,” said Rob Murray-Leach.

The Energy Efficiency Council is the peak body for energy efficiency, energy management and distributed generation.