Policies

Energy Efficiency Opportunities Programme

Source: International Energy Agency
Last updated: 9 August 2019

The Energy Efficiency Opportunities (EEO) program was first announced by the Australian federal government in its energy white paper, 'Securing Australia's Energy Future', in June 2004. The programme's requirements were set out in the Energy Efficiency Opportunities Act 2006, which came into effect on 1 July 2006. Under the program, all corporate groups using more than 0.5 petajoules of energy per year were required to undertake a rigorous energy efficiency opportunity assessment every five years and to report publicly on the outcomes of this assessment. EEO covered approximately 450 businesses across all sectors (as at 31 March 2014) that accounted for 65% of all energy end-use.  

 

Each of these businesses uses at least as much energy as 10,000 average Australian households. EEO stimulated the business sector to take a more rigorous approach to energy use and energy efficiency by addressing the information failures and organisational barriers which work against businesses identifying and implementing cost effective improvements in energy efficiency. EEO provided advice, produces guidance's materials, case studies and holding annual workshops.   

 

The program aimed to achieve these objectives by improving the identification, evaluation and resulting uptake of cost effective energy efficiency opportunities by improving the standard of energy efficiency assessments undertaken by corporations and requiring public reporting of the assessment outcomes and business responses. However, implementation of energy efficiency opportunities was voluntary - corporations were free to make decisions on energy efficiency investments through their normal business processes. The approach taken in the program was based on the experiences of businesses and governments in energy efficiency programmes such as those run by state and territory governments and the federal level Energy Efficiency Best Practice (EEBP) program, which operated across several industry sectors from 1998-2003. The program took a 'whole of business' approach to assessing energy use and energy efficiency opportunities in its framework assessment. The framework involved corporations looking at the many factors influencing energy use, including: leadership; management and policy; the accuracy and quality of data and analysis; the skills and perspectives of a wide range of people; decision making; and communicating outcomes. Participants were expected to meet minimum requirements in each of these areas. Corporations had to follow the following steps, with the programme operating on a five-year cycle:  

 

  • Determining whether the corporation must participate in the Energy Efficiency Opportunities program  
  • Registering with the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism (9 months after trigger year)  
  • Preparing and submitting an assessment and reporting schedule (18 months after trigger year)  
  • Conducting assessments (first assessments to be completed 24 months after trigger year)  
  • Publicly reporting on assessment outcomes and business response to the energy saving opportunities (30 months after trigger year with yearly updates).  

 

Corporations reported that at June 2011 they had in aggregate assessed 90% of their total energy use, identifying savings to improve energy productivity totalling 164.2 petajoules. Fifty-four per cent of the energy savings identified had been adopted by corporations, estimated to save 88.8 petajoules of energy per year. This is equivalent to 1.5% of Australia's total energy use. The program was extended to electricity generators from 1 July 2011.  

 

This program is no longer operational.

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