❓ Hon Giz Watson questions the Minister for Energy about the impact of the carbon tax on Synergy's NaturalPower and other GreenPower products, specifically whether the costs will be passed on to customers. The Minister clarifies that while the NaturalPower premium won't attract carbon tax, the underlying tariff will.
AnsweredQoN 440Legislative Council
QuestionView source ↗
SYNERGY
NATURALPOWER PRODUCTS — EFFECT OF CARBON TAX
440. Hon GIZ WATSON to the Minister for Energy:
I refer to my question without
notice 315 on 24 May this year regarding the effect of the carbon tax on
Synergy NaturalPower products. This being the last sitting week before the
carbon tax comes in, I ask again —
(1) Will Synergy
pass on its carbon tax–related cost to customers who have signed up for
its 100 per cent NaturalPower product?
(2) If yes to
(1), why?
(3) Which other
Synergy GreenPower products will attract carbon tax–related costs, and
why?
NATURALPOWER PRODUCTS — EFFECT OF CARBON TAX
440. Hon GIZ WATSON to the Minister for Energy:
I refer to my question without
notice 315 on 24 May this year regarding the effect of the carbon tax on
Synergy NaturalPower products. This being the last sitting week before the
carbon tax comes in, I ask again —
(1) Will Synergy
pass on its carbon tax–related cost to customers who have signed up for
its 100 per cent NaturalPower product?
(2) If yes to
(1), why?
(3) Which other
Synergy GreenPower products will attract carbon tax–related costs, and
why?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the honourable member for
some notice of the question.
(1) Carbon tax–related
costs will not be applied to the natural power premium. However, due to the
NaturalPower product being a premium on a customer's underlying tariff,
carbon tax–related costs will be applied to the underlying tariff.
(2) Synergy
offers two nationally accredited GreenPower products, NaturalPower and
EasyGreen. It also offers a carbon offset product for EarthFriendly. The
GreenPower products enable customers to choose to support investment in
large-scale renewable energy technology by contributing to the purchase of
renewable energy certificates beyond Synergy's mandated requirement to
source an amount of energy from renewable sources.
Customers contribute by either
nominating a percentage of their consumption to attract a premium surcharge or
by nominating a fixed dollar amount per bill to be contributed towards the
support of technologies. The nationally accredited GreenPower program was
designed prior to the carbon tax; its purpose was to allow consumers to
directly support the development of renewable technologies by allowing demand
to be created for their output. It did this through a program that audited the
purchase of RECs to ensure retailers distinguished between RECs purchased to
meet the mandatory renewable energy target and those purchased on behalf of
customers opting to buy GreenPower. As such, the GreenPower program creates
demand for RECs beyond mandatory renewable energy requirements. Customers who
opt to pay the NaturalPower, EasyGreen and EarthFriendly premiums can cancel
their product subscriptions at any time. GreenPower schemes in other
jurisdictions operate in the same way as they do in Western Australia; that is,
GreenPower products are a premium on a customer's underlying tariff.
(3) All
GreenPower products offered by Synergy will be affected equally as per the
explanation provided in the answer to the previous question.
some notice of the question.
(1) Carbon tax–related
costs will not be applied to the natural power premium. However, due to the
NaturalPower product being a premium on a customer's underlying tariff,
carbon tax–related costs will be applied to the underlying tariff.
(2) Synergy
offers two nationally accredited GreenPower products, NaturalPower and
EasyGreen. It also offers a carbon offset product for EarthFriendly. The
GreenPower products enable customers to choose to support investment in
large-scale renewable energy technology by contributing to the purchase of
renewable energy certificates beyond Synergy's mandated requirement to
source an amount of energy from renewable sources.
Customers contribute by either
nominating a percentage of their consumption to attract a premium surcharge or
by nominating a fixed dollar amount per bill to be contributed towards the
support of technologies. The nationally accredited GreenPower program was
designed prior to the carbon tax; its purpose was to allow consumers to
directly support the development of renewable technologies by allowing demand
to be created for their output. It did this through a program that audited the
purchase of RECs to ensure retailers distinguished between RECs purchased to
meet the mandatory renewable energy target and those purchased on behalf of
customers opting to buy GreenPower. As such, the GreenPower program creates
demand for RECs beyond mandatory renewable energy requirements. Customers who
opt to pay the NaturalPower, EasyGreen and EarthFriendly premiums can cancel
their product subscriptions at any time. GreenPower schemes in other
jurisdictions operate in the same way as they do in Western Australia; that is,
GreenPower products are a premium on a customer's underlying tariff.
(3) All
GreenPower products offered by Synergy will be affected equally as per the
explanation provided in the answer to the previous question.
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