Support for household energy efficiency and demand management are a better investment in lowering
power prices than the Keneally government’s short‐sighted cuts to the Climate Change Fund
announced today, according to the Nature Conservation Council of NSW.
“NSW will remain locked into a cycle of escalating power prices until our political leaders commit to
clever ways of doing more with less power, reduce the demand for electricity at peak times and move
us rapidly towards a clean energy economy,” Nature Conservation Council of NSW Chief Executive
Officer Pepe Clarke said today.
“A significant cut to the Climate Change Fund will strip money from the very energy efficiency and
demand management measures most needed to really drive down the cost of power generation in
NSW. The funding cut will lead to additional demand for more than 724,000 megawatt hours of
electricity each year, adding to the burden of peak energy use and ultimately pushing up the price of
power again.
“The Climate Change Fund’s energy demand and efficiency measures have delivered an average $28
per megawatt hour savings. In stark contrast, the electricity rebate will be five times more expensive.
“The Premier has put short‐term politics ahead of securing the real structural changes needed for
driving down our energy use and achieving the deep cuts in carbon pollution needed.
“Reducing power demand could deliver infrastructure savings of up to $1 billion per year for electricity
companies over the next five years, with potential flow on benefits for the environment and
consumers.
“The Nature Conservation Council calls on the NSW government to urgently investigate the full scope
of benefits and cost savings available from the deferral of power network capital expenditures as a
result of reducing household energy use,” Mr Clarke said.
