Energy - NSW IPART

 

Monitoring the retail electricity and gas markets in NSW IPART has released a Consultation Paper as part of our review into the retail electricity and gas markets in NSW. Each year, we monitor and report on prices, competitive dynamics, and the participation of households and small businesses in these markets. This year, we will also report on new energy products and services, including virtual power plants and demand response programs. We want to hear your views on consumers' experiences with these new energy products and services, and if there are emerging issues we should investigate. Your views will help ensure our review focuses on what matters most during the energy transition. Have Your Say by making a submission to our Consultation Paper by 22 August 2025. Best Regards, IPART Energy Team Have Your Say

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Energy Pricing In Embedded Networks - NSW IPART

 

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WIC Act framework review - extension of submission period - NSW IPART

NSW IPART - represents the Independent  Pricing And  Regulatory Tribunal.  For NSW residents ensure safe and reliable services at a fair consumable price for water, energy, public transport, local government and a licenced Administrator of water. electricity and gas.

Yes, that's right if you want to know how costs may be going up or down, in relation to the above-mentioned areas, this is the place to understand the processes of price setting. Did you know that?

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Solar Feed-In Tariff for 2023-24 - NSW IPART

NSW IPART - represents the Independent  Pricing And  Regulatory Tribunal.  For NSW residents ensure safe and reliable services at a fair consumable price for water, energy, public transport, local government and a licenced Administrator of water. electricity and gas.

So, here is the end results for the Solar Feed Tariffs, that you can confirm with your Solar Energy provider. See how you go with them and check if they are complying.

Click here for details

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What an up and down Political week for all of us

What a political week it has been. Should we say that the 'Political heat is on' or is it all gassed up?

I must say since I've been posting after the election of 21st May 2022, we have had some constructive conversations, creating a lot of interest on both sides of politics. What I do is do my best to present supporting evidence to support my statements. My statements are not there to create a scary community, they are there to make our community aware of how politicians can change from election policies to a community that may not have much freedom, left with us.

We are all lucky Australians, living in a lucky free country. We are able to travel freely around the country as long as we keep within the law. And laws can change, especially when a new Prime Minister who has a history of being involved 'led a group within Young Labor that was aligned with the left faction's Hard Left, which maintained 'links with broader left-wing groups, such as the Communist Party of Australia, People for Nuclear Disarmament and the African National Congress - quoted from Wikipedia Click here for details'

Why does this worry me? Well, I'll tell you: When my parents married, they didn't bring any extended families from Europe. I had no real Uncles and Aunties. I had only met my grandparents from Dad's side and they came from Czechoslovakia. After the Soviet Invasion under the Warsaw Pact - 'The Soviet invasion of Prague', wanted to get rid of reformers in 1968. What they also got rid of was ownership from rightful owners. My Grandfather lost ownership of his own tailoring business and a block of units he owned and the Soviets left one unit for himself and my grandmother. When I met him he was telling us how living in a communist country was: frightening. There were coupons for daily bread, and food essentials, queueing for each item in separate queues and on just about every street corner your id was checked. Is this the type of community we all want to live in? Where it makes people fear government actions and government ran your life. I remember he was questioning my dad about how can he go down to the corner shop without id all the time, fearing jail sentences if no id was carried. Click here for Warsaw Pact Invasion details

So, why am I worried, Why shouldn't I be worried? Because of  Albo's previous links to the Communist Party. I may be in a class of my own here but how would you all feel if your own home you owned was taken away from your very own, your business was taken away from yourself and was owned by the government. This is why I am writing blogs and I am passionate to make people understand what may happen. Make them realise what we could end up like in this kind of State and fear. Anyone that has had Communist Party links, may still have them. This now creates maybe a different agenda than what we are used to, from our 31st Prime Minister. Only time will tell.

Albo started off by making friends with Communist China! Click here for details

My issue here is which Country would he rather shake hands with first, USA or China. Now Scomo understood that Covid-19 has been suggested to start in Wuhan, China and wanted to make China responsible for universal countries going into debt due to Covid-19. China refused they were to blame. If propper measures were taken in China, there would not have been a Pandemic

So what has happened this week or so:

7th June visit to Indonesia Click here for details from News.com.au

Another working holiday for Albo as he tries to shake hands with the Muslim Indonesian Government, providing stronger relationships with Indonesia. maybe he could talk to Joko and ask him not to send boats to Australia - if he doesn't, boats galore will be arriving in Australia - similar to the previous history.

Did Albo hide from home because of interest rate questions? Click here for details

Energy Crisis: This is where all he can do is blame the previous government, for what is happening now. Click here for details Finger pointing is something Albo is very good at so far. At what stage do we start blaming him? After the next election! Whilst the Greens are closing coal mines and have been in the background in the past Click here for one post on it, while closing them has it been assessed by the Greens that there was enough energy to be generated by other energy sources. I'd say no. While they are on this 'Climate Change/ Policy, coal mines have been closed, not realising that there may not be enough energy to be supplied to all communities.

If we are heading to different energy sources, why wasn't it catered for by bureaucrats and politicians from all sides that there would be no shortfall?

Now a good thing Albo is going to do is change the name of the national Cabinet. This could be that when it is mentioned,  people will not associate it with Scomo. Another useless cost for us tax-payers.

So Albo has scored with the young with the Fairwork Commission for a $40 per week pay increase to the minimum wage earners. Actually, he got a bonus 0.1% above his promised policies. This is great news for our young but on the flip side of the coin, does he realise here comes another inflation increase as well from the $40.00 per week, as I am sure 70 per cent of youth would be spending that extra $40.00, per week. More money is being circulated within the economy, thus raising inflation rates again as well as rising interest rates. So how do small businesses feel about paying the extra on the minimum wages, well with rising fuel costs, which, the current government would not reduce petrol excise (Like Scomo just recently did)? Local businesses have to find that extra money to pay their staff.

Yes, I know people will say businesses make a profit. This may cut into their profit (if they are making it) and it may break some small to medium-size businesses, that have been struggling with rising costs: petrol, goods and even issues of hiring quality young staff that are keen to work. A cafe owner in Sydney is feeling the pinch already and the effect of the $40 per week wage rise for low-income earners. Click here for details

My take on the performance of workers to get a wage rise is pretty basic. I have always been grateful for receiving an income per week/fortnight that allowed me to have a roof over my head and feed my family, allow me to take holidays, without being called back to work (like Scomo) during the holidays. In the last company I worked for, the employer looked at 'Key Performance Indicators' that I had achieved or not. I never had a perfect outcome in all statistics, though out each year. The employer would review my work and then offer me a high level of pay rise, medium to a low level as well. Sometimes it was backdated to the 1st of July of that year.

Before I was born, people would have been happy to work and there was plenty of workaround available. Employees were loyal and there was no push from employers, they were satisfied they had genuine, loyal workers. And that was the true respect between employer and employee. You'd probably stay in that business for 30-40 years based on the business being successful.

So, I think a fairer system to help both the employer and employees would be is 'end of year achievements scheme'. The employer would allocate funds at the end of each year to dedicated loyal workers, proportional to their level of commitment to helping the business make a profit. The employees that did their day-to-day work and decided to leave the business for a high dollar wage in another job/industry let them go. Respect loyal hardworking employees. That's what happened to me!

Also, congratulations to Fiona Phillips for being re-elected for the Federal Member of Gilmore, officially!

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Welcome to the March edition of the IPART newsletter - NSW IPART

 

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NSW Councils apply for rate increases

 

Four councils across NSW have applied to IPART for a special variation to increase their income from rates above the rate peg.  

Large increases were sought by Central Coast Council, Hunter’s Hill Council and Snowy Valleys Council.

IPART has set the rate peg for 2022-23 at 0.7% for councils with zero and below population growth. The rate peg is the maximum percentage amount by which a council can increase its income from rates.

Community members can make submissions on the proposed rate increases until 7 March.

More information

 

 

Improving energy efficiency and saving money

 

You may not be aware but the long-running Energy Saving Scheme administered by IPART can provide households and small businesses with energy efficiency upgrades such as replacing downlights with LEDs.

To participate you need to contact one of the businesses accredited under the scheme.

The ESS also assists consumers to achieve energy savings by incentivising retailers to sell energy efficient appliances. The types of appliances include televisions, washing machines, dryers, dishwashers and fridges.

More information

 

 

Fire and Rescue NSW

 

Watch our online public hearing which looked at Fire and Rescue’s NSW’s fees and charges.

Watch the video

 

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Monitoring the retail energy markets in NSW 2020-21 - NSW IPART

 

IPART >>

 

 

Today IPART released its Draft Report on the performance and competitiveness of the retail energy markets in NSW 2020-21

Customers that remain on standing offers are paying too much when they could move to a better plan and save more than $300 a year for electricity and $350 for gas. To get a better deal, customers should compare offers on the government run EnergyMadeEasy website. 

IPART found that COVID-19 lockdown restrictions have meant that residential customers staying at home are using more energy so bills have increased. However, the underlying retail electricity prices have fallen to their lowest levels since 2015-16. The latest price reductions have been brought about by falling wholesale prices with the influx of rooftop solar systems. 

We also found that retailers are increasingly competing for customers. There are now 40 retailers in the market (15 more than two years ago), and a range of innovative and non-price incentives are being offered to further attract customers. 

We are seeking feedback on our Draft Report by 5 November 2021.

Best Regards,
IPART Energy Team

Draft Report

Make a submission

Sustainable Energy for a Sustainable Future - Shoalhaven City Council - Media Release

 

11 May 2021

Over the past few years, Shoalhaven City Council has taken significant steps towards reducing its environmental impact across its operations, with the roll out of several sustainable energy initiatives. 

Shoalhaven Council’s adopted Sustainable Energy Policy and Strategy has guided the implementation of the following sustainable energy initiatives to meet its emissions reduction and renewable energy targets. 

In 2020, Council invested in solar PV installations at eight of its locations, including the Shoalhaven Indoor Sports Centre, five wastewater treatment plants, Nowra Library and the Bomaderry Works Depot.  This included a 100kW ground-mounted solar PV system at Vincentia Wastewater Treatment Plant which generates around 137,000 kWh per year.  This saves Council around $20,000 annually on electricity costs and supplies approximately 20% of the treatment plant’s electricity needs.  In 2021, Shoalhaven Council will roll out new solar PV installations at four additional wastewater treatment plants, including Nowra, Bomaderry, Culburra and Callala. 

Council formed an internal Energy Contracts Working Group to negotiate and procure electricity. The Group organised to enter non-binding agreements with both Procurement Australia and NSW Local Government Procurement, to source long-term renewable electricity deals under Power Purchase Agreements. These offers will be evaluated mid-2021 to gauge value before entering any binding stage. 

Shoalhaven Council has also continued its membership in the national Cities Power Partnership (CPP) program.  Council staff utilise the benefits of the CPP including their online forums, project monitoring, buddies program and webinars.  Council has committed to five CPP pledges including to support the uptake of renewable energy and adopt best practice energy efficiency measures across all Council buildings.  In October 2020, Council was recognised in the Cities Power Partnership National Awards, by winning the national Energy Efficiency Achievement award. 

Across 2020 and early 2021, Shoalhaven Council partnered with Endeavour Energy to replace existing residential streetlights with energy efficient Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting.  Council received funding from the NSW Government to assist with the cost of these works, that will generate an annual savings of approximately $235,000. 

Council has an established internal Revolving Energy Fund (REFund) that enables an ongoing funding source to contribute towards renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. The REFund works by reinvesting the monetary savings made by selected energy efficiency projects back into the fund. This generates revenue to commence new energy savings projects.  To date, five projects have been initiated under the REFund. 

Shoalhaven City Council Mayor Amanda Findley, said “Since Shoalhaven City Council adopted its Sustainable Energy Policy in May 2019, we have focused on implementing sustainable energy initiatives to help reduce Council’s impact on the environment and operational costs”. 

“The implementation of projects such as the installation of solar PV, Cities Power Partnership, LED streetlighting upgrades, and the Revolving Energy Fund are just the beginning of Council’s focus in moving towards a more sustainable future. Council’s investment into renewable energy will help to lower future electricity bills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions”.   

“Council plays an important leadership role in modelling best practice energy management to the Shoalhaven community”, Clr Findley said. 

For more information on Council’s adopted Sustainable Energy Policy visit Council’s website.

Vincentia Wastewater Treatment Plant ground mounted solar PV array

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Jemena Natural Gas application for a gas distributor’s licence - NSW IPART

 

 

IPART has received an application from Jemena Gas Networks (NSW) Pty Ltd (JGN) for a gas distributor’s licence. JGN is seeking authorisation to distribute a mixture of natural gas and hydrogen through an existing distribution system to facilitate its Western Sydney Green Gas Project.

JGN’s Western Sydney Green Gas Project at Horsley Park in Western Sydney involves:

• Using renewably-sourced electricity to convert water into oxygen and hydrogen via electrolysis.
• Capturing and injecting small quantities of hydrogen (up to 2%) into part of JGN’s natural gas distribution network.

The submission period is now open and will close on 23 April 2021.

We will consider the application and all submissions before making a recommendation to the Minister for Energy and Environment to grant or refuse the licence.

JGN’s application is available on our website. Tell us what you think about the application by using the Have your say link on our website.

Best Regards,
IPART Energy Regulation and Compliance

Shoalhaven City Council announced as a finalist in the 2020 Climate Awards - Shoalhaven City Council - Media Release

 

21 October 2020

Shoalhaven City Council has been named a finalist in the Energy Efficiency Achievement Award category for the Cities Power Partnership 2020 Climate Awards.  

The Climate Awards recognise the outstanding council-led initiatives all over Australia and celebrates the exceptional achievements of member councils striving to lower greenhouse gas emissions and embrace clean energy and transport. 

Shoalhaven City Council’s Mayor Amanda Findley said she was delighted to hear the announcement.  

“I’m thrilled Council has been recognised for its adoption of a series of sustainable energy efficiency and renewable energy projects aimed at achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050”, Clr Findley said.  

“Some of the recent projects included trialing three fully electric vehicles in its fleet, installation of over 400 kW of solar panels across 10 sites, commencing a revolving energy fund, replacing 4,200 street lights with energy saving LEDs and supporting Repower Shoalhaven’s community energy solar farm”, Clr Findley said.  

“It goes to show that even regional Councils can play a big role in lowering greenhouse gas emissions and embracing clean energy to help generations to come”, Clr Findley stated.   

The Awards will be announced via an online ceremony on Thursday 29 October 2020.  

For more information on the Awards visit the Cities Power Partnership’s website.  

Street lights being replaced with energy savings LEDs – courtesy of Endeavour Energy.

Monitoring the retail energy markets 2019/20 - NSW IPART

 

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In your neighbourhoos - This Week - Shoalhaven City Council

 

Explore the Integrated Emergency Management Centre 

Take a guided walk through the Integrated Emergency Management Centre with RFS personnel by watching the video. 

Council together with Shoalhaven RFS  is encouraging families, friends and neighbours to use the NSW RFS Get Ready Weekend (19-20 September) to prepare for bushfire season and start a broader conversation about being aware of and prepared for all hazards.

You can Get Ready now, by following the five steps. Find the steps, and further support on our Get Ready resource page or jump onto the NSW RFS Sholhaven Facebook page. 

WATCH VIDEO

 

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Liberty Swing at Plantation Point  Veolia Mulwaree Trustee, Henry Gundry visited the Shoalhaven this week to present a cheque for $21,000 to Sholahaven City Council's Mayor Amanda Findley.   Veolia's donation will fund the installation of a Liberty Swing as part of Council’s new inclusive playground development at Plantation Point Reserve, Vincentia.   Construction is scheduled to begin in October.  MORE DETAILS

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Have your say: Livvi's Place at Marriott Park  Council has created a Master Plan for Marriott Park in the Nowra CBD.   A component of the Master Plan is the creation of the Variety Livvi's Place inclusive playspace.  You can have your say on the Draft Concept Plan - Variety Livvi's Place Marriott Park by taking part in an online survey.  Survey closes on Friday, 25 September.  COMPLETE THE SURVEY

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Have your say: Driving in senior years  The University of Wollongong is working in collaboration with key stakeholders to understand how we can support senior drivers with decisions about maintaining, restricting or retiring from driving.  We are inviting family members of senior drivers or retired drivers to provide their views and experiences on this topic through an online survey.  Take part in the online survey to have your say. COMPLETE THE SURVEY

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Blaze Aid mends fences and lifts spirits Council acknowledges the volunteer efforts, coordinated by Blaze Aid, to help the Shoalhaven recover and rebuild following the January bushfires. Volunteer-based organisation BlazeAid has been working with rural property owners across the Shoalhaven to rebuild fences that have been damaged or destroyed by fire and flood.  View Council's Blaze Aid Report for a snapshot of their efforts over the past six-months. MORE DETAILS

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National Dementia Australia Helpline In 2020, there are an estimated 459,000 Australians living with dementia. Without a medical breakthrough, the number of people with dementia is expected to increase to nearly 1.1 million by 2058. The National Dementia Helpline is a free, federally funded service available to those living with dementia, or family, friends and carers of people living with dementia.  LEARN MORE

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Save energy and reduce your bills Endeavour Energy's PowerSavers intatitive, AtHomeSaver can help customers who have difficulty managing their electricity bills. The program can help you: learn simple tips to reduce your energy use at home save money on your bills help reduce your carbon footprint.  Download the the PowerSavers mobile app to take part in the program. MORE DETAILS

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Feed yourself, not your bin

Food makes up around 30% of landfill waste and much of it can be avoided. 

Planning your meals and how much food you purchase, plus organising your fridge and pantry, are simple steps to help prevent your food from perishing before you get to consume it.

Reducing your food waste benefits the environment and your wallet. Find out how you can use six steps to reduce food waste at home. 

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WATCH VIDEO