Energy
Media and commentary related to our work to protect consumer rights and ensure everyone in our community can access the affordable, efficient and clean energy they need.
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Protecting households stuck with gas from unfair costs
We helped secure a win making gas network costs fairer, with new connections now charged to the consumers requesting them.
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SwitchedOn podcast: Are households becoming shock absorbers for the energy transition?
Australia could be leaning too heavily on households to improve demand flexibility, says Craig Memery.
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ABC: Australia’s race to rewire the country amid a global transmission boom is not unique
Senior Advisor Craig Memery said way transmission costs are being paid risks the social licence for the transition.
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The Energy: Push for consumer duty as energy market grows more complex
Energy and Water Program Director Douglas McCloskey stressed the importance of getting new protections right.
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Reforms to improve energy for 95,000 households in NSW welcomed by energy advocates
Reforms to embedded networks are a big step forward, but fundamental issues remain.
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The Australian: Solar users told to get smart with excess power
Senior Energy Advisor Craig Memery highlighted transparency issues with the export costs of household solar but said focus should be on the bigger issues.
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The Energy: Ease of switching up for debate
We highlighted the difficulty of switching energy providers for even the most informed consumers.
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ABC News: Consumers decry cap that lets spot Australian power prices rise to highest in world
We joined other energy justice and civil society organisations in calling for fairer power price caps.
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2SER: NT energy system letting down First Nations families
Solicitor Petra Franks joined 2SER to discuss our collaborative work to improve energy access for First Nations communities in the Northern Territory.
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The Energy: Industry weighs costs and benefits of real-time meter data
We explained how the challenge of implementing useful meter data for networks and consumers is in part a legacy of a disastrous historical policy decision.
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The Energy: Energy rule maker weighs equity in gas ‘death spiral’
The energy market rule-maker will examine how to fairly share gas distribution network ‘stranding’ costs, following proposals by the JEC and Energy Consumers Australia.
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NSW gas customers to be hit with millions to pay disconnection costs for others
Energy experts at the Justice and Equity Centre say gas consumers in NSW face unfair extra costs following yesterday’s determination by the Australian Energy Regular (AER).
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Renew Economy: Generators clash over Vales Point cash demand, but small retailers say they are the real victims
We expressed concerns around demands for funding from one of NSW’s last coal power plants.
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ABC News: As household solar and batteries grow in Australia, a new market is emerging for the data sitting behind smart meters
Douglas McCloskey, Program Director of our Energy and Water Justice team, said customers should have better access to their smart meter data.
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The Saturday Paper: How Santos targets climate activists with ‘lawfare’
Principal Solicitor Ellen Tilbury explained why Santos’ legal tactic could curtail public interest litigation.
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ABC Radio National: Broken Hill residents “lose trust” in power grid
Craig Memery, a Senior Advisor in our Energy and Water team, explained why regional communities need urgent energy grid upgrades.
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NSW Consumer Energy Strategy provides a welcome vision for reform
The NSW Government’s Consumer Energy Strategy commits to ambitious targets, but further detail will be vital to make meaningful change.
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Renew Economy: NSW aims for a million solar battery homes in landmark consumer energy strategy for no coal grid
Energy and Water Justice Program Director Douglas McCloskey said reforms are making the system fairer, but much more is needed.
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2SER: Debt and Disconnection
Senior Policy Officer Thea Bray joined 2SER Breakfast to discuss the Energy and Water Justice Program’s new Powerless report.
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ABC News: Higher income households across NSW increasingly struggling to stay on top of their energy bills
Nearly every household is struggling to pay their energy bills, Senior Policy Officer Thea Bray told the ABC.
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Unaffordable energy leaves more working households facing disconnection
Our new research shows more working families, people with mid-range incomes and households with mortgages are facing disconnection because of unaffordable energy bills.
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Solar power tariff a fair cost for using the grid
Energy experts at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) say new tariff arrangements that include a small charge for solar panel owners in NSW to sell energy during the middle of the day help make the cost of maintaining the energy grid fairer for everyone. After years of consultation with the community, electricity network businesses…
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The Daily Telegraph: Power Pain Amps Up
NSW households and small businesses struggling to pay soaring electricity bills face forking out more than $340m extra next financial year to cover administration and other costs for renewable energy zones. … In discussions with Macquarie Street, consumer advocacy groups have been arguing that the burden shouldn’t be entirely on the shoulders of householders and…
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Electricity price announcement signals a welcome shift in priorities
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) says today’s Default Market Offer (DMO) 2024–25 Draft Determination signals a welcome shift by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER). The DMO has been used to set a benchmark price for electricity across most of Australia since 2019. Previous DMO decisions have included a ‘competition allowance’ that set the DMO…
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SMH: After 17 days with no power, Richard wants better answers
… Public Interest Advocacy Centre consumer advocate Craig Memery said distribution companies should have more portable batteries and petrol generators they can drop off to households that are severed from the grid. ‘It is possible for network businesses to provide temporary battery and generator systems that can meet people’s basic needs of keeping their fridges…
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2SER: Tackling unfair embedded networks
With energy bills rising, most of us take it for granted that we can switch to a different supplier with a better deal if there’s one available. However, some people don’t have this option because they live in a home within an ‘embedded network’. Instead, they’re locked into a deal that’s often more expensive, with…
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Australia’s transmission task needs a new approach – let’s open it up to competition
In particular, the AEMC determined that TNSPs recovering their costs as incurred rather than as commissioned would mean that consumers were paying for transmission lines before they received the benefits of that new line in access to lower priced electricity. As PIAC identified, the rule change would increase intergenerational inequities, with today’s customers paying for the…
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Eraring extension unnecessary: Government has cheaper, cleaner options
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) has called on the NSW Government to adopt a program of reliable, sustainable energy solutions rather than extend the life of the Eraring coal-fired power station. There is growing speculation Eraring will be subsidised to operate beyond its planned 2025 closing date due to perceived risks to reliability of…
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2SER: Turning down the gas
The Australian Government has committed to reaching Net Zero emissions by 2050 and we need to make big cuts by 2030. It’s clear that in order to achieve this, we have to move away from our dependence on fossil fuels This means doing something about the gas used in homes. The Victorian Government recently banned…
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“We can electrify the smart way, or the slow and expensive way”
…To electrify the smart way Australia needs an electrification plan, argues Craig Memery, Senior energy advisor for the Public Interest Advocacy Centre. “We need a plan, we need a strategy, we need a common goal held by governments, by industry, by consumers, by the market institution and others that says this is where we want…