Tasmania’s Government has confirmed the finance partner and program provider for its Energy Saver Loan Scheme – but not everyone is impressed.
In June this year, an expansion of the Energy Efficiency Loans scheme was announced after electricity price hikes in Tasmania of close to 12%. The new Energy Saver Loan scheme is to provide interest free loans of between $500 and $10,000 over 3 years to eligible applicants to invest in selected energy efficient products; which include solar power and battery systems.
Yesterday, Tasmanian Minister for Energy and Renewables Guy Barnett announced Brighte will be the finance partner and program provider.
Eligible energy efficient products will need to be purchased and installed through a network of accredited and Brighte-approved vendors. Brighte is also the finance and program provider partner for the ACT’s Home Energy Support Program under a similar arrangement.
Energy Saver Loan Scheme Eligibility
Eligible applicants for the Tasmanian scheme are defined as:
- Tasmanians for their principal place of residence;
- Landlords with residential tenants in Tasmania; and
- Tasmanian small businesses and community organisations, where their electricity consumption is less than 150MWh per year.
Eligible purchases include:
- solar power systems
- home battery systems
- reverse cycle electric heating and cooling systems (heat pumps)
- electric heat pump hot water systems
- solar hot water systems
- induction and ceramic electric stovetops
- double glazing upgrades to existing buildings
- insulation for existing buildings
- energy efficient whitegoods
Funds provided by the Energy Saver Loan Scheme will be paid by Brighte to the chosen accredited supplier and participants will make repayments to Brighte. While a single applicant can get a loan for their home and another for their business, no single applicant may be loaned more than $20,000 in total.
Tasmanian Labor: Barnett “Desperate”
The Minister’s choice of finance/program provider didn’t go over well with Tasmanian Labor.
“In his desperation to find a delivery partner, Minister Barnett has announced Brighte Capital, a firm whose mainland record has serious question marks, will help roll out his Energy Saver Loan Scheme later this year,” said Tasmanian Shadow Minister for Energy, Dean Winter.
Concerning those “serious question marks”, Mr. Winter pointed to an ABC investigation last year.
“Minister Barnett must assure Tasmanians that his new delivery partner is not taking part in schemes like that in Tasmania, and that his scheme today cannot be exploited by contractors or Brighte at the expense of Tasmanians doing it tough.”
At the time of publishing, Minister Barnett hadn’t responded to Mr. Winter’s spray. But chances are he will given the scathing attack on an important program and the fact back-and-forth political press release biffo is very much alive and well in the Apple Isle.
Tasmania’s Energy Saver Loan scheme is to formally kick off in October. Further information is available here.
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