The Energy Security Safeguard includes 2 energy certificate schemes designed to help households and businesses:
- access discounts on energy-saving appliance upgrades
- reduce the amount of energy they use every day
- lower the cost of their energy bills
- help NSW reach net zero by 2050.
The Energy Savings Scheme (ESS) makes energy-efficient upgrades more affordable to households and businesses.
The Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (PDRS) makes it easier for households and businesses to reduce their energy use during peak demand hours.
How our certificate schemes work
Under these schemes, installers are able to access incentives which are passed on to their customers as upfront discounts on the installation of new and energy-efficient appliances. These appliances are more energy-efficient than the ones they replace or are new additions, reducing the amount of energy the premise uses.
These discounts are only accessible through approved businesses known as Accredited Certificate Providers (ACPs). When these businesses complete an energy-saving upgrade, certificates are created representing the amount of energy the upgrade has reduced.
These certificates are registered with the scheme administrator, the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) and are sold to businesses required by law to meet specific energy-saving targets, such as energy retailers or large emitting facilities.
Revenue from the sale of these certificates allows money to flow back through an Accredited Certificate Provider and its installers to households or businesses receiving the upgrade, as a discount on their installation cost.
This framework aims to ensure a self-sustaining system of discounted energy-saving upgrades for households and businesses while reducing energy bills for everyone in NSW and improving energy reliability.
How the certificate schemes benefit NSW
These certificate schemes are helping NSW to reduce emissions and reach net zero by:
- helping households and businesses lower the cost of energy-saving upgrades, reduce their energy use and cut the cost of their energy bills
- lowering the overall cost of energy-saving upgrades by increasing market demand for them
- increasing the pipeline of energy-saving upgrades for Accredited Certificate Providers and installers helping them to grow
- financially incentivising high-emitting businesses and energy retailers to use less fossil fuels and to transition to renewable energy sources.
How to get your energy-saving upgrade discounts
How to become an Accredited Certificate Provider
If you are interested in becoming an Accredited Certificate Provider, you can find out how to apply for accreditation through the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART).