Northern Rivers residents are being urged to ditch energy retailers that support the coal seam gas industry.
The Lock the Gate group has joined forces with Getup, the online advocacy organization, to promote a ‘Better Power’ campaign to the region.
They will be talking to people in key communities of the northern rivers about how switching their energy retailer could help them shift their money away from big, polluting companies that invest in CSG.
The campaign was being launched this morning in Lismore.
Lock the Gate northern rivers regional coordinator Elly Bird said many people did not realise that the three big energy retailers, Origin, AGL and EnergyAustralia, all invested in coal seam gas.
‘Switching away from those companies and moving to ones that invest in renewables is a great way to put your money where your mouth is,’ Ms Bird said.
‘We know people think CSG is a bad idea, and this is something direct they can do to act on their concerns.’
The campaign will urge people to switch to Powershop, which was named the greenest energy retailer in Australia by Greenpeace and the Total Environment Centre last year.
Powershop is backed by a 100 per cent renewable energy generator and has a commitment to never invest in coal seam gas.
Local residents and businesses have already started signing up to make the switch, joining more than 11,000 households and companies in New South Wales and Victoria.
Northern Rivers resident Nan Nicholson said switching to Powershop was simple to do and had given her peace of mind about her energy choice.
‘I’ve just switched my energy provider to Powershop, it’s been a very simple process, they took care of everything. It’s something quick and easy that I can do and I feel good knowing that I’m not indirectly supporting CSG,’ she said.
GetUp’s Better Power campaign manager Lily Dempster said the campaign was about taking the fight against CSG directly to the companies involved.
‘People right across New South Wales have made their voices heard about coal seam gas. They don’t want it in their communities, and this campaign is all about supporting them in their stand,’ said Ms Dempster.
‘In the Northern Rivers, the community sent an unmistakeable message direct to their politicians at the NSW election in March, and now they have a chance to send the same message to their energy companies.
‘The big energy companies are pouring money into fossil fuels and CSG. We want to help people take their money out of the pockets of polluters and redirect it to a company where it can make a difference.’
For more information on the Better Power campaign, go to www.getup.org.au/better-power
I love it! Vote with your feet. Have integrity. How we choose to spend our money is almost the most influential decision we have when it comes to effecting change on a corporate and governmental level
i just switched from Origin to Red Energy…. The caller from Origin asking why I was switching did not have a come-back when I told her that the reason I was changing was that Origin was implicated by its CSG investments. I’d encourage all Northern Rivers folk to make the switch!
I made the change to powershop a few months ago after learning about them from get up ! Its very easy to change over as they take care of that for you and ive even got an app on my phone to monitor my usage i can by my power whenever i want so i never get a bill and ive been saving over a dollar a day with them which over a few months is a hundred bucks ! Better in my pocket than some dirty big greedy power company like origin or agl ! Just on a side note the government of the day is trying to push a bill through that will stop shop ethically campaigns just like this one ! Barnaby Joyce being a key player !
I recently changed to Powershop (from Origin). Special getUp! prices. Been on nearly 3 months so should be able to see how much I have saved soon!!
The statement “Powershop is backed by a 100 per cent renewable energy generator.” is highly misleading.
The electricity you are paying for through Powershop is exactly the same electricity you had before. It is NOT 100 per cent renewable energy as the statement might imply and most of the money you are paying finishes up with same generators: Origin, AGL and EnergyAustralia. Only a relatively small amount is paid to the retailer Powershop.
Okay Martin …soo lets see some concrete evidence to back up your claim.
from their website: you can see this is a very different scheme to supporting fossil fuel power companies. Seems this way you can clearly support renewable investment, rather than being dragged along with investments that focus on fossil fuels.
‘Powershop and its parent company Merdian’s wind farms are accredited for 100 Percent GreenPower, which its customers have the option to purchase. By buying 100 Percent GreenPower, customers are supporting further investment in renewable energy in Australia, and helping speed up the transformation of Australia’s energy system to cleaner renewable energy….
However, like other energy retailers, Powershop buys the electricity it sells from the National Electricity Market, which is generated by a mixture of coal, gas and renewable energy. To offset this, Powershop is a 100% carbon neutral energy retailer. That means that when you buy their standard (black) power, they will offset the carbon emissions (by purchasing United Nations certified certificates) from the generation of that power for you, at no extra cost.
The GetUp offer is for Powershop’s standard 100% carbon neutral power. We believe that buying 100% GreenPower is the best thing you can do to support renewable energy in Australia. Powershop sells a range of GreenPower products and we encourage GetUp members who switch to buy them. Powershop customers can buy GreenPower from community energy projects, landfill gas, energy from sugar milling and other wind farms as well as its own two Australian wind farms. There is a higher charge for GreenPower as when you buy one of their GreenPower products, Powershop will purchase additional certificates (Renewable Energy Certificates) and pass that on to help support those renewable energy projects.
The purpose of the deal is a fundraiser for GETUP. To make it work got to the most naive section of Australia… Yes the residents of Northern Rivers. As previously said by others. What comes out of the powerboard of your home is the electricity from the combined generators. Yup 95% fossil fuel generators. Buying offset carbon certificates is just sending Australian cash overseas. Retailers like RED are just invoice shufflers. If it gives you a warm inner glow change invoices. As I said t the start. Gullible Northern Rivers folk. BTW this will be censored by the Editor I would suggest.