NFEE Stage Two

Australian Government, State and Territory Energy Ministers met in Perth on 13 December 2007 for the 14th Meeting on the Ministerial Council On Energy (MCE). At this meeting Ministers agreed to a package of the following five new energy efficiency measures for delivery under NFEE Stage Two:

Expending and enhancing the Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) program
Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) high efficiency systems strategy
Phase-out of inefficient incandescent lighting
Government leadership though green leases
Development of measures for a national hot water strategy, for later consideration.

Implementation of new energy efficiency measures will be subject to full stakeholder consultation and, where appropriate, Regulatory Impact Statements. NFEE Stage Two will also include an energy efficiency data gathering and analysis project, to support policy development.

In addition to the new measures, the MCE noted that a number of Stage One measures are continuing including the Energy Efficiency Opportunities (EEO) program, the Energy Efficiency Exchange (EEX), and the National House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS). Ministers acknowledged further Stage One measures that will be introduced subject to Regulatory Impact Statements include provision of energy use benchmarks on energy bills and mandatory disclosure of energy performance of residential and commercial buildings.

At the December 2008 meeting of the Ministerial Council of Energy, Australian Government, State and Territory Energy Ministers endorsed the National Hot Water Strategy and a revised Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) high efficiency systems strategy. Both projects commenced on 1 January 2009.

NFEE Stage Two Consultation

The Standing Committee of Officials released the 'Consultation Paper National Framework for Energy Efficiency Stage Two, September 2007' PDF image [PDF, 222KB].

The purpose of the consultation paper was to inform stakeholders of the proposed NFEE Stage 2 measures and their rationale, and to seek feedback for the purposes of finalising the measures for MCE endorsement.

Consultation took place by means of a single consultation event (see below). Stakeholder comments from the consultation event and any written submissions are being used to further develop the proposed NFEE Stage 2 measures. The package of measures is scheduled was submitted to the MCE for final approval in December 2007, in order to commence from 1 July 2008.

The consultation paper was for comment only and does not represent a settled position by MCE, participating jurisdictions, the SCO or any supporting jurisdictional officers.

NFEE Stage Two Presentations

On Tuesday 25 September 2007, E2WG conducted a consultation event on the consultation paper 'National Framework for Energy Efficiency Stage 2'. At the consultation event the Chair of the Energy Efficiency Working Group made the following two presentations:

Opening Statements from the Chair of the Energy Efiiciency Working Group [PDF, 268KB]
Details of Proposed NFEE Stage 2 Measures [PDF, 212KB]

Also at the consultation event the following stakeholders made a presentation to the Energy Efficiency Working Group:

Australian Council of Social Services [PDF, 39KB]
Australian Electrical and Electronic Manufactures Association [PDF, 29KB]
Australian Institute of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning and Heating & Air Conditioning and Mechanical Contractors' Association [PDF, 158KB]
Consumer Utilities and Advocacy Centre [PDF, 58KB]
Consumer Utilities and Advocacy Centre Speech [PDF, 30KB]
Rheem [PDF, 169KB]

NFEE Stage Two Submissions

In additional to comments received at the consultation event, the following stakeholders submitted written submissions:

Australian Electrical and Electronic Manufactures' Association (AEEMA) [PDF, 34KB]
Australian Conservation Foundation [PDF, 976KB]
Australian Industry Greenhouse Network [PDF, 459KB]
Brisbane City Council [PDF, 26KB]
Centre for Credit and Consumer Law [PDF, 66KB]
Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia [PDF, 271KB]
Consumer Action Law Centre [PDF, 69KB]
Energetics [PDF, 218KB]
Energy Efficiency Conservation Authority of New Zealand [PDF, 51KB]
Energy Response [PDF, 77KB]
Ergon Energy [PDF, 30KB]
Ethnic Communities' Council of NSW Inc [PDF, 25KB]
Housing Industry Association [PDF, 44KB]
Insulation Council of Australia and New Zealand [PDF, 33KB]
Jeff Beal [PDF, 125KB]
Madeleine Kingston [PDF, 710KB]
National Generators Forum [PDF, 112KB]
Origin Energy [PDF, 41KB]
WWF-Australia [PDF, 124KB]