You pay for 'free power audits

Sunday Mail Adelaide
Sunday 22/2/2009 Page: 31

ENERGY giant AGL has raised supply charges for 250,000 customers to pay for an energy saving scheme. The rise comes despite Energy Minister Pat Conlon saying the Residential Energy Efficiency Scheme (REES) was "intended to benefit all types of households" and would save them "around $80 a year" on energy bills.

While AGL wouldn't say how much charges would rise, it said the cash would be used to provide energy audits to some of its 10,000 low income customers as required under the scheme. AGL spokesman Andrew Scannell said the company was "undertaking free home energy audits and free energy efficiency activities for South Australian concession customers and customers on AGL's Staying Connected program". "These activities include the replacement of up to eight incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs and the change over of inefficient shower heads to low-flow shower heads," he said.

Under the scheme all major energy retailers must make the same offer to "priority" customers. However, Origin Energy said it was at least a couple of months away from making this service available. And when TRUEnergy was asked about the REES scheme, its director of corporate affairs, Kate Shea, said "it's coming in on July 1, isn't it?".

The scheme started on January 1 and the State Government has been running a radio and print advertising campaign. It's encouraging householders to contact their energy provider and take part in the scheme to "save energy and reduce your power bills". However, AGL, Origin Energy and TRUEnergy recorded telephone enquiry options provide no information about how to obtain a free energy audit. The Essential Services Commission of SA, which administers the scheme, said this was "unsatisfactory".