Policy success in improving energy productivity will result in energy management becoming a more established business practice, as well as a more important financial and social consideration for consumers. Policy success could be observed through:
sustained reductions in sectoral energy intensities and related greenhouse gas emissions
lower rates of growth in energy demand, particularly peak electricity demand
greater ability of households and businesses to manage their energy use and energy bills, including through a wider range of energy-efficiency products and services and enhanced access to high-quality and timely energy-use information and analysis
growing market adoption of more cost-reflective pricing structures and contractual arrangements and an accelerating deployment of enabling technologies, such as smart meters
a higher level of demand-side participation in energy markets and a higher ratio of demand- to supply-side investments, improved capacity utilisation rates and lower relative costs of energy supply capacity
a deeper and more competitive energy services sector offering a broader range of energy management and service options, including:
- a larger number of active energy services companies
- increasing deployment of commercial and residential energy management systems, including metering and control systems and analytical tools
- greater capacity on the part of energy services businesses to identify commercial opportunities by using timely and accessible network planning information.
a more energy-efficient transport fleet and building stock
a streamlined and coordinated set of complementary government policies and programs that support more effective market participation, address non-price barriers and improve energy productivity for consumers while minimising associated costs or compliance burdens.
Energy productivity policy actions
The Australian Government will:
improve energy productivity in the national electricity market by working with jurisdictions, market institutions and stakeholders to develop an effective demand-side framework, taking into account recommendations from the Australian Energy Market Commission’s Power of Choice review, including on
- network and retail market pricing
- network regulatory incentives
- consumers’ access to and control over their energy data
- market access
- the timely and efficient deployment and use of enabling technologies -further actions that may be necessary to address non-market failures in the electricity system and to effectively support informed decision-making by consumers.
unlock broader gains in end-use energy productivity by
- working with industry to develop energy productivity roadmaps in key sectors to drive productivity improvements and business innovation
- developing options for a possible national energy savings initiative.
improve the effectiveness, coordination and application of government policies and programs, particularly by eliminating unnecessary effort and improving coordination, including by
- working through COAG to review and streamline emissions reduction and energy-efficiency schemes that are not complementary to the carbon price, are ineffective or inefficient, or impose duplicative reporting requirements on business
- considering further opportunities within the government to develop a more coordinated approach to the delivery of its own industrial energy-efficiency and related innovation programs and to streamline energy and greenhouse reporting measures.