Australian State Energy Upgrades alleged compliance breach 2022

In June 2022, we gathered evidence of breaches involving energy efficient lighting upgrades across farms and businesses in regional Victoria. The accredited person had created Victorian energy efficiency certificates for activities, undertaken by subcontractors, that did not fully meet our compliance requirements.

We suspended Australian State Energy Upgrades for a period of three months and require them to surrender 47,909 certificates created through its activities under the program. Australian State Energy Upgrades must also undergo an independent audit.

Alleged breaches

The alleged breaches of the rules included:

• lighting installations at premises which were not connected to electricity (ineligible premises).
• overstating the level of pre-upgrade energy use (used to measure the energy savings gained).

After a six-month investigation, the company could not provide evidence to prove the level of greenhouse gas abatement being claimed at sites inspected across regional Victoria.

Our determination

We determined that Australian State Energy Upgrades:

• be suspended for a period of three months
• need to surrender 47,909 claimed certificates to ensure there is no impact on the certificate market from the non-compliant activities
• must engage an independent auditor to review its internal processes and controls to ensure this does not happen again.

We have referred the matter to Victoria Police and Energy Safe Victoria.