Antinuclear

City of Sydney acting to develop locally produced energy

City Of Sydney: Locally Produced Energy The Smartest Investment  http://www.energymatters.com.au/index.php?main_page=news_article&article_id=3408 by Energy Matters, 3 Oct 12 Regulation should be reformed to encourage locally produced energy says the City of Sydney. The City has lodged a submission to the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) review of electricity network companies.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore points out consumers were bearing the brunt of costly upgrades to aging and inefficient network infrastructure that transmits coal-fired electricity all the way from the Hunter Valley to the middle of Sydney.

“The smartest investment we can make is in generating electricity close to where it is used,” said the Lord Mayor.

The City of Sydney is demonstrating leadership on this issue with a plan to boost the energy efficiency of its buildings and produce energy locally with solar, wind and trigeneration technology; which will drive down costs and environmental impact.

“But to make them a reality we need the government to get the regulation right,” says Lord Mayor Moore.

A media statement issued by the City of Sydney says network charges make up the lion’s share of electricity bills and are expected to account for 60 per cent of the average bill by 2014. In 2009. the AER approved spending of $17.4 billion on electricity network infrastructure in NSW over five years, representing $2,400 per person. The City says average electricity prices in the Sydney electricity distribution network area are expected to increase by a massive 83 per cent during this period.

According to a study from the University of Technology, Sydney, the City’s proposed $440 million trigeneration network could save electricity consumers $1.5 billion in avoided spending on network upgrades and new power stations by 2030.

The City has also called for electricity bills clearly detail the costs for peak, shoulder and off-peak, network and retail charges so consumers can see the contribution of each component and adjust their consumption to reduce costs.

According to solar solutions provider Energy Matters, households don’t have to wait for government to act in order to rein in electricity bills. A 4kW solar panel system installed in Sydney can generate electricity bill savings of over $1,000 a year. Factoring in the cost of a system from the company, such a system will produce electricity at a cost as little as 5.5c per kilowatt hour.

October 4, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | energy, New South Wales