This program is designed to complement the Hardship Utilities Grants Scheme and provide tools to reduce energy consumption, and thereby electricity bills, on an ongoing basis for consumers in financial hardship.
The following programs are available to those assessed as being in hardship by an accredited financial counsellor on referral from a utility.
Eligible households can be provided with free energy audits and rebates for insulation, compact fluorescent lights, and water-saving devices.
Electricity consumption by refrigerators is the third highest source of electricity usage in the home (following water usage, heating and cooling requirements), meaning that installation of a more energy efficient fridge will make a significant difference to energy consumption by hardship customers.
Under this program, eligible households will be able to receive a new fridge up to the value of $1000 to replace a fridge that is more than 7 years old. The program is only available to those consumers:
This new program is currently being developed and will begin in the later half of 2009.
The program involves the implementation of energy efficiency measures to public housing residences, including the installation of insulation, weather-sealing, compact fluorescent lights and low flow hot water taps and shower heads.
Funding has been allocated to program initiatives to improve take-up rates of hardship assistance and energy efficiency measures in regional locations. This is a new initiative to ensure that people in regional areas are able to access existing and new hardship efficiency programs.
This new program is currently being developed and will begin in 2009/10.
This program fully covers the costs of the installation of solar water heaters to hardship customers in areas that are not serviced by natural gas reticulation. It is anticipated that the scheme could provide for the installation of 500 hot water systems each year.
This extension of an existing program is currently being developed and will be available in 2009/10.
