Cut power now, households urged

Tag : Household Use

THE electricity industry has called on households to start cuttingtheir power use now to get ready for emissions trading.
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Emissions trading is forecast to add just over $3 a week tohousehold power bills when it starts in two years' time.
It was sensible to start preparing for higher prices in advance,Brad Page, chief executive of industry body the Energy SupplyAssociation of Australia, said.
There was a "huge amount" people could do now to slash their powerbills, he said. "Using less, you'll offset some of the increasedcost (under emissions trading)."
He recommended switching to energy-efficient lights, installinginsulation, and sealing around doors. When a new appliance wasneeded, households should choose an energy-efficient model.
The average household power bill is $1020 a year. The FederalGovernment forecasts emissions trading will push up the cost ofelectricity by about 16 per cent, or an increase of $163 a year, in2010.
The industry is calling for a fundamental change in the way powerprices are set to allow the full cost of emissions trading to flowthrough to households.
State governments presently set power prices, which tends to keepthem low.
The association wants that regulation scrapped and the market toset prices.
"We have to change the system; we've got to rely on competition andstop trying to regulate a price," Mr Page said.
"You have to allow for the cost of carbon."
State governments have agreed to stop setting prices when there iseffective competition in the market, but there are concernsderegulation is progressing too slowly.
The industry should be able to pass on higher costs under emissionstrading, Mr Page said. Forcing the industry to bear higher costswould discourage investment in new generation capacity, which couldlead to a crisis in supply.