Energy and water
Media and commentary related to our work to protect and advance consumer protections for essential services, and accelerate a just transition to net zero.
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Calls for energy businesses to operate in good faith
ABC NewsRadio’s Thomas Oriti spoke to senior energy advisor with the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, Craig Memery.
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‘The prices are so much more’: how apartment dwellers get locked into bad power deals
Program director Douglas McCloskey said the structural disadvantages people living in embedded networks faced would hit “particularly hard” if energy prices continued to rise. “People living in embedded networks should have a right to access the energy they need as affordably and fairly as everyone else,” he said.
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AEMO flags level three ‘lack of reserve’ notice across SA, VIC, NSW and Tasmania
Profiteering and bad behaviour would need to be reviewed in the wake of the energy crunch, according to the Public Interest Advocacy Centre’s Craig Memery. “I expect there will be big reviews over the next year that find some* generation businesses have been profiteering through bad behaviour in the #energycrisis. It’s particularly off when you…
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Power companies accused of engineering crisis for profit
Multibillion-dollar power companies are being accused by regulators of driving the power shortages striking the nation in order to receive more compensation payments.
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Welcome news: increased financial assistance for NSW households facing rising energy bills
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre’s Energy + Water Consumers’ Advocacy Program welcomes the NSW Government’s announcement of additional support for NSW households struggling to afford rising energy bills. NSW Treasurer and Minister for Energy, Matt Kean, today announced an increase in the cap on the Energy Accounts Payment Assistance (EAPA) scheme from $1200 to $1600…
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Rising electricity prices pushing households to the wall
Struggling Australian households forced to go without essential items such as food and child care to pay rising electricity bills.
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2SER interview re Renewable Energy Zones
Craig Memery, who leads PIACs Energy + Water Consumer Advocacy Program discusses: The closure of the Eraring coal fired power station The State Gov’s enviromental policy REZ’s (Renewable Energy Zones)
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Increased energy bill support welcome news for NSW households under lockdown
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre’s Energy + Water Consumers’ Advocacy Program welcomes an increase in bill support for NSW households struggling to afford their energy under ongoing lockdowns. NSW Minister for Energy and Environment, Matt Kean, today announced an increase in the cap on the Energy Accounts Payment Assistance (EAPA) scheme from $1200 to $1600…
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Community and industry collaborate for better outcomes for people experiencing vulnerability
Today Australia’s peak body for energy retailers, the Australian Energy Council, has committed to best practice principles for assisting people struggling to afford their energy, and published a guide to help its members implement these principles. This outcome is the result of collaboration between consumer advocates and energy retailers that started at the beginning of…
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Treasury plans to give energy retailers control of consumer data should be abandoned
The Commonwealth Treasury’s new proposal for a Consumer Data Right (CDR) increases risks for vulnerable energy consumers, won’t deliver its intended benefits and should be abandoned. These were the recommendations of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre’s submission to the Treasury’s consultation on its plans for a CDR for energy. The Treasury proposal puts control of…