New South Wales (NSW) has started looking at tariff reform to help industries use heat as energy, as the state’s decarbonisation focus shifts to the much harder to abate end of the economic spectrum.
Currently, network charges don’t recognise the fact that heat energy storage technologies shift industrial electricity use to times when it’s more available.
“There is a significant amount of work underway on how we can reform and have appropriate energy tariffs that can help high-temperature heat to utilise thermal storage,” Department of Energy, Environment, Climate Change and Water (DEECCW) policy head Tim Stock said at the Renewable Heat conference in Melbourne this week.
“And how to… [use it to] arbitrage the energy market for those large heat loads to be able to to be able to get the benefit of the transition for those industrial customers.”
NSW DEECCW did not respond to requests for further information.
