Key messages

Business and residential customers can use current technologies – such as smart meters, rooftop solar, batteries, electric vehicles, energy management systems and energy-efficient buildings, appliances and equipment – to reduce bills and drive transformation in the energy sector. While uptake of these technologies is increasing, with targeted communications and information, more customers will invest and realise the benefits of increased energy efficiency and productivity more quickly.
Closing the information gap for home owners, investors, buyers and renters so they better understand domestic energy performance will drive investments and improvements over time.
Vulnerable communities will benefit from these investments through higher minimum standards for rental accommodation and investments in social housing, supporting a higher standard of living and lower bills.
Business productivity will be enhanced when small to medium businesses, manufacturing and high-energy-intensity businesses realise new opportunities to upgrade plant and equipment and modernise processes to realise greater energy productivity.
A more efficient energy system reduces costs for everyone. Learning from, and building on, the best programs available and harmonising incentives and information nationally will help Australia move from lagging to leading in energy efficiency.

What are the impacts?

A national approach to supporting customers to unlock savings will improve energy affordability across Australia.
Providing consistent access to information, tools and incentives will empower customers to manage their own energy outcomes and improve their experience as service users, including vulnerable customers and small to medium businesses.
In particular, a nationally harmonised approach to energy efficiency will improve economic productivity. Energy efficiency upgrades will stimulate growth in Australia’s gross domestic product.
Improving efficiency would also improve environmental sustainability by reducing energy consumption, energy losses and emissions.
A harmonised national approach would also improve governance, with more coherent and transparent decision-making and reduced administration costs.

How easy is it to implement?

Information, tools, and incentives to empower customers can be implemented within five years to provide the support customers need to unlock savings.
This would incur some costs, predominantly to taxpayers, as incentives and customer education campaigns would be funded by the Australian Government. However, costs would likely reduce in the long-run through efficiency gains.
Cross-jurisdictional coordination and potentially new legislation could make national coordination complex. However, most of this reform’s activities could be implemented within 5 years, and all levels of government have most of the capacity needed to build on existing successful programs.

How certain are the outcomes?

Supporting customers to unlock energy affordability is expected to be accepted by the community. Customers have been dissatisfied with rising energy costs and the expected benefits of these changes are clear.
Harmonising energy efficiency schemes and strengthening tools and information for customers build on existing successful programs, which provide a high degree of confidence in the outcome.
The implementation of these reforms is wholly within governments’ control. However, realising the bill savings relies on customers’ actions, which may be galvanised due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on energy affordability.