Energy equity guide released for feedback

The Australian Government has recently released the draft ‘Better Practice Guide Towards Energy Equity’ for consultation. John Gardner, Empowerment lead in CSIRO’s Smart Energy team, is a lead researcher for the work.

“Currently the main way to identify people in energy hardship is when they are late to pay their energy bills, and their retailer reaches out to offer them support”, John said.

“However there are people out there spending 10% or more of their income on energy bills, and they are really struggling. They may try to reduce their energy costs by living in a cold house or having cold showers, and might be prioritising paying their energy bills over other things like food and clothes, so their hardship is invisible to current systems. This research aims to find a better way of identifying those people, and to strengthen programs to prevent households in vulnerable circumstances from being left behind by Australia’s energy transition.”

The research identified many transferable lessons from policy and program innovations that align with energy equity policy imperatives, and developed seven better practice principles:

1. TARGET your program to maximise impacts by understanding the state and drivers of energy hardship for the households you wish to help
2. LEVERAGE complementary programs in your jurisdiction to ensure a broad a range of households are reached
3. SCALE the outcomes of your program through adequate funding, timelines, delivery models and impacts
4. SECURE sufficient funding by measuring costs and benefits at a whole-of-government level
5. INCLUDE the households you seek to help with appropriate language, framing and channels in program communications
6. REDUCE friction for targeted households by removing accessibility barriers in program design and delivery
7. MEASURE, collect and analyse data to support program implementation, continuous improvement and evaluation

As the energy system is rebuilt to reach net zero, we have the opportunity to help people in vulnerable circumstances. This current work is part of the bigger puzzle around energy equity for all, which encompasses issues such as more energy efficient housing, streamlining regulations, and making energy pricing structures easier to understand.

The reports are available on the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water’s website and the department is seeking feedback until 18 October 2024. Use the survey link on the webpage to provide input.