Timetosave Pty Ltd

Timetosave Pty Ltd is offering brand-new display fridges and refrigeration cabinets to businesses in hospitality, retail and service sectors in New South Wales under the ESS Program.

Do you have an old, energy inefficient fridge at your business? Time to get a new, energy-efficient fridge under the NSW government's energy productivity ESS program.

NSW Government incentives on fridge upgrades

Energy use in commercial buildings is rising, and they make about a quarter of the overall electricity use pie (24% to be precise) in Australia. Contrary to this, in New South Wales (NSW), per capita energy usage declined by 13.84% in the 2009-2019 period.

This is a significant achievement given the fact that the population of NSW rose from 7.46 to 8.46 million in the same period. This reduction in energy use was achieved by various activities offered by the NSW government under energy efficiency schemes like Energy Saving Scheme (ESS).

Despite the reduction in energy usage, NSW state was the second-highest (after Queensland) energy consumer in 2020-21. It consumed 24 percent of Australia's total energy production in that period.

Currently, coal-fired power plants contribute about 75% of the total electricity production in NSW, and the state has set the target to achieve 50% emission reduction (compared to 2005 levels) by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050.

To achieve this, energy productivity / efficiency schemes like ESS play a significant role.

Energy Saving Scheme (ESS) in NSW

The ESS scheme was enacted in 2009 under the Electricity Supply Act (1995). The scheme offers financial incentives to households and businesses in New South Wales state who participate in energy-efficiency upgrade activities by installing energy-saving products and appliances or replacing old ones with their energy-efficient equivalents.

Display fridge rebate under ESS program

Refrigeration cost makes up the largest part of the operating cost pie in hospitality sectors and businesses like restaurants, food and beverage shops, grocery stores, bottle shops, and bars. The government of New South Wales enacted the ESS program in 2009 to help small businesses and households in reducing their operational costs, energy intensity and electricity bills.

Besides reducing energy bills, ESS also seeks to decarbonise the economy and minimise individual carbon footprints in the state. Display refrigerators and cabinets upgrade or replacement activity is defined as High Efficiency Refrigerated Cabinet (RC) activity under Schedule F of ESS program. An amendment was made to the Energy Saving Scheme in July 2022 and F1 Refrigerated Cabinet activity definition was replaced with F1.1 and F1.2 RC activity.

Who is eligible for fridge rebates in NSW?

Under the ESS scheme, small and medium businesses in hospitality and service sectors are eligible to apply for incentives/rebates. A business can either install a new refrigeration cabinet(s) or replace the existing with a new energy-efficient approved under the rebate program.

To receive the rebate, the following conditions must be met:

The business must have an active Australian Business Number (ABN) and is registered for GST.
The business must be providing services in NSW state.
Upgrade or new installation must be carried out by an Accredited Service Provider (ACP).
Installation/upgrade should be done by a licensed electrician in accordance with ESS rules and Installation of High Efficiency Appliances for Businesses (IHEAB) method.
The refrigerator cabinet or freezer must meet requirements listed under schedule F1.1 and F1.2 of the ESS program, which includes meeting Greenhouse and Energy Minimum Standards or GEMS standards and Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) and requirements specified by IPART.
In replacement activity, any refrigerants removed or replaced during the upgrade must be disposed of in accordance with rules specified in the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act, 1989.