Council Saving Energy & Costs

Tablelands Regional Council is continuing its financial and environmental energy consumption improvements.

‘Following the adoption of our Climate Risk Management Strategy in April 2022 we prioritised the development of an Energy Management Plan,’ said Mayor Rod Marti.

‘As one of the largest organisations in the region we felt we had a responsibility to develop informed strategies and actions to maintain services and assets and protect the interests of our community now and into the future.

‘Our greenhouse gas inventory showed that emissions related to electricity consumption are our second highest source of emissions (32% or 5612 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) each year).

‘These emissions are not only detrimental to our environment, they are detrimental to our budget.

‘So we implemented energy management initiatives and their returns are already exceeding the original investment.

‘Stage one of the program was an electricity portfolio review including a high-level evaluation of our energy-consuming assets, a tariff review, and a desktop review of large-scale solar photovoltaic and energy conservation opportunities.

‘Stage one forecasted annual savings in excess of $100,000 through tariff changes alone, and provided the information needed to secure Reef Guardian Council funding for solar panels.

‘Stage two focussed on the priority sites identified in stage one — water supply pumping stations and corporate and community buildings.

‘In conjunction with staff from our Facilities and Water teams, we identified pump efficiency opportunities, potentially delivering cost savings of up to $170,000, which are progressively being implemented.

‘Potential annual savings for some of our buildings are expected to exceed $30,000.

‘We are now regularly reviewing our electricity tariffs and our forecasted savings for this year through tariff fine tuning are expected to reach $45,399.

‘And while all these savings are fantastic on the hip pocket, they are also helping our environment.

‘Saving energy helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which are a major cause of climate change and environmental degradation.

‘Energy efficiency also supports a more sustainable future by protecting ecosystems and promoting cleaner, renewable energy alternatives.

‘We have a responsibility to lead by example in reducing energy consumption and minimising its environmental impact, and we are committed to ongoing improvement in this space,’ Mayor Marti said.