Small business up for $9m in energy grants

GOVERNMENT help is at hand to assist small businesses in Far North Queensland to lower power bills as the economy recovers from COVID-19.

Small businesses across Australia can now apply for a share in $9m worth of grants under the Morrison government’s Energy Efficient Communities Program.

Up to $20,000 will be available to small businesses with an annual turnover of less than $10m to upgrade equipment to reduce energy consumption, invest in monitoring systems to better manage energy use and conduct energy audits to investigate other opportunities for efficiency.

Federal Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor said the grants would help small businesses reduce their power bills and ease financial pressure during the current economic climate.

“As small businesses come out of COVID-19 hibernation, we want to help them lower their power bills so they can spend money on more important aspects of their business, or expand and employ more people,” Mr Taylor said.

“These grants build on other government policies like retail price caps that are already delivering lower energy costs for small-business owners.”

Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch said small businesses would be key to getting the economy back on track as the nation responded to COVID.

“Small businesses across Leichhardt are the lifeblood of our community and the backbone of our economy,” Mr Entsch said. “Providing support to unlock energy savings in their operations will only add to the resilience of these businesses.”

To ensure an equitable distribution of funding across Australia, up to three grants per electorate would be awarded to eligible small businesses.

The Energy Efficient Communities Program was announced as part of the government’s climate solutions package in last year’s federal budget.

The program will deliver grants to help business to improve energy efficiency practices and better manage energy consumption to reduce power bills.

Small-business owners who wish to apply for a grant can access the guidelines and application forms at business.gov. au, or by calling 13 28 46.