Final Day For Energy Special Offers
We need all the help we can get when it comes to energy prices, so it was good news to see the government move to ensure cheaper gas for Australian homes and businesses this week. 
Despite the Turnbull government warning Australia's largest gas producers about placing limits on their exports, big gas companies have refused to promise they will no longer export more gas from the Australian market than they produce.
In response, the government has decided to impose an Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism on gas exporters from July 1, which gives it authority to limit companies' gas exports if they are emptying local gas reserves to meet overseas export contracts.
For NSW energy customers, some good news from Energy and Utilities Minister Don Harwin this week who announced that following a two-hour roundtable with the state’s biggest energy retailers this week, they will be focused on helping NSW customers facing hardship get the best deal possible
The meeting held alongside consumer advocates and the Energy and Water Ombudsman wasn’t about “shirt-fronting the retailers” according to Minister Harwin. In a startling revelation (not) the Minister said in a press statement “Consumers feel they aren’t getting the best value on energy”. Thanks Sherlock.
Can we ever hope to achieve the “energy utopia” of bills that everybody can afford, reliable supply and a well-regulated, efficient and sustainable system? Suzanne Toumbourou is the Executive Director of the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC) and in an opinion piece this week she says it is within reach now. She calls it a “trilemma”.
An independent review into the National Electricity Market (NEM), chaired by Australia’s Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel has lodged one of about 360 submissions received by the review panel, and describes the enormous potential of Australia’s built environment to advance all three of the review’s objectives.
The current dialogue is centred on the supply side of the energy equation, but a focus on the demand side provides the fastest and cheapest way to get results. It offers a ‘win-win-win’ situation, benefiting all three parts of the trilemma – less demand leads to a reduced burden on infrastructure, lower bills for consumers and reduced carbon emissions.
Echoing NSW Minister Don Harwin’s sentiments, Suzanne reports that lower energy costs are particularly important to households at the lower end of the socioeconomic scale, where an energy bill consumes a much higher proportion of the budget. With household energy bills having risen an average of 50 per cent in the six years to 2014, this has put significant pressure on low-income families.
We have the technology to achieve zero carbon buildings right now, and emerging technologies and price reductions offer exciting opportunities for better, easier and cheaper solutions for the future.
Market-leading Australian property companies have already demonstrated the potential for energy efficiency. Lochiel Park in suburban Adelaide, South Australia, is a high-performance environmentally sustainable residential estate. Each of the 100 homes on the estate has high-efficiency appliances and equipment, smart controls and displays, and rooftop solar electricity and hot water, providing a 60 per cent saving in energy consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions compared to the Australian average.
It’s not impossible to make that ‘energy utopia’ a reality. The NEM Review provides real prospect for change, and our sector offers exciting opportunities to help create a sustainable and more productive built environment and increase wellbeing for us all.
Over to you. What do you think needs to happen in order for energy bills to start coming down, or will they ever come down? Feedback below
http://www.queenslandcountrylife.com.au/story/4624596/pm-slaps-export-limit-on-lng/?cs=5498
Click here to hear the interview with NSW Energy Minister Don Harwin
