So what will the carbon tax mean for electricity prices? Well this will actually depend on where you live. Consumers in Tasmania will feel less of an impact come 1 July as much of their electricity is generated by hydro-electricity plants. Electricity users in Victoria will feel the greatest impact as of much of their electricity is generated by burning brown coal which creates a large amount of CO2 gases.

In a recent article published on the online news site Crikey, the Australian National University’s Andrew MacIntosh and Richard Denniss from The Australia Institute outlined what electricity will really cost under the carbon tax.

The article described how four main factors will have an impact on what the consumer will pay. These include: the price on carbon ($23), the amount of the carbon tax passed onto consumers, the type of generation used and lastly how much electricity the consumer uses.

This last point is the one which directly relates to our industry. While a good proportion of customers will be happy to do nothing and pay higher power prices, the evidence suggests – based on the amount of people installing solar PV – that they are looking at ways to cut their electricity bills.

For example with the average electricity price in NSW and ACT set to increase by between $165 and $190 per annun from 1 July due to the Carbon Tax, the demand for energy efficiency services and solar PV will only continue to grow.

The good news for EcoSmart Electricians and electrical contractors in general is that this market segment already exists. The next step is to develop products and services which households know about and can readily access. This is the reason why solar PV has been so successful. The general public have been aware of the benefits of solar PV in decreasing their quarterly electricity bills.

Now may be the time for electrical contractors to create a product such as downlight replacement and promote the energy savings which can be made by replacing an old halogen downlight with a new more energy efficient one. This service could be promoted at a set price.

In these times of increasing electricity prices and a slowing of the economy, innovative businesses will look at ways of developing and promoting new products and services that meet a real need in the community.