August 6, 2020
Small businesses have been encouraged to apply for grants to help lower their power bills … but Federal Member for Wide Bay Llew O’Brien has warned they should act fast.
Up to $20,000 is available to small businesses with an annual turnover of less than $10 million to upgrade equipment to reduce energy consumption, invest in monitoring systems to better manage energy use and conduct energy audits to investigate other opportunities for efficiency.
The grants are through the Federal Government’s $9 million Energy Efficient Communities Program.
Two funding streams are currently open: one for dairy farm businesses and the other for small businesses.
Applications for the dairy farming business round opened on June 22 and will close on August 17.
Applications for the small business round opened on July 6 and will close on August 26.
More information is available online at business.gov.au
Mr O’Brien said the grants would help small businesses get the economy back on track as Australia responds to the impact of COVID-19.
“Small and family-run businesses are the lifeblood of our community and the backbone of the Australian economy, so this support to help them unlock savings on their power bills will help protect local livelihoods and local jobs,” Mr O’Brien said.
To ensure an equitable distribution of funding across Australia, up to three small business grants per Federal electorate will be awarded to eligible businesses.
The electorates of Wide Bay, Flynn and Maranoa cover different slices of the South Burnett region.
