Victoria energy efficiency target safe, for now, as Napthine govt backs down

Victoria’s Napthine Government has backed down on plans to scrap the state’s energy efficiency scheme, after a community backlash and pressure from the opposition.

The government announced in May that it would introduce legislation to dump the Victorian Energy Efficiency Target (VEET) – which is estimated to have saved participating households and businesses an average $109 a year on electricity bills and created 2000 jobs.

The changes were to have cut short the program, running it for one more year only, and cutting its target from 5.4 million tonnes of CO2 abatement to 2 million in 2015.

But according to a statement from Environment Victoria – one of the major campaigners against the planned legislation – the VEET has been given a stay of execution, leaving the 5.4 million tonne target in place for 2015.

“Today, knowing that they didn’t have the numbers, the Napthine Government buckled and withdrew their legislation from Parliament,” Environment Victoria’s Mark Wakeham said on Friday in an emailed statement.

“So today we’ve had a win and 2000 workers in the energy efficiency industry, who have been working to weatherproof our homes and businesses, install solar hot water and efficient lighting and manufacture energy saving products, have had a stay of execution.

“But we are under no illusions,” Wakeham added. “We are in a bitter struggle with those trying to protect the vested interests of the polluters, and they will try again and again to delay the inevitable shift to clean energy and keep alive their polluting business model.”

In what Wakeham has described as “an appalling failure of public policy,” the Napthine government’s own modelling appeared to contradict its central claim against the VEET – that it was costing consumers, with little environmental return.

“According to their own business impact assessment, they want to scrap the program because it is undermining the profits of big coal generators by reducing energy demand,” said Wakeham.

Still, if re-elected, Napthine has vowed to resume efforts in the next Parliament to pass legislation to scrap the scheme.