Adelaide Advertiser
Wednesday 4/8/2010 Page: 7
ELECTRICITY companies have been caught out trying to double dip into a government household energy efficiency scheme and using unlicensed workers in home insulation works. The companies are trying to claim for energy-saving work on households despite other companies already receiving government credit for the work. And the electricity watchdog, the Essential Service Commission of South Australia, has revealed some retailers used unlicensed workers to install home insulation under the scheme.
Under the State Government's Residential Energy Efficiency Scheme, electricity companies must perform audits on up to 4000 to 5000 households a year and provide discount energy-saving works like installing efficient light globes, shower heads, insulation and draught proofing. A review of the scheme's first year of operations by ESCOSA has found it is rejecting many claims for credit because of double-dipping.
Companies are blaming homeowners for not declaring that they have already had work done and say the Government is trying to make them responsible for compliance, but this was rejected by ESCOSA yesterday. "The question is who is the person best placed to manage the risks - and the answer to that is that it is the retailer rather than the householder", an ESCOSA spokesman said.
He said the commission would continue to enforce strict licensing and safety rules under the scheme. "The commission has rejected ceiling insulation activities where... (licence conditions have not been met)... and has notified relevant licensing authorities", he said. Energy Retailers Association of Australia executive director Cameron O'Reilly said retailers with little experience in the work were now responsible for much of the operation of the scheme. "The insurance policy of the scheme seems to be that we should know all the answers and the burden is put on us maybe to protect the scheme from being seen to be not running as well as it should be", he said.
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