The changes to the lighting activities for the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) program have finally been decided, including changes to the proposed phase-out of certain activities that were put forward for consultation back in December 2019.
As expected, most commercial LED lighting subsidies are to be completely phased out, but with a later timeline than initially proposed.
The key changes and timelines for commercial sites are:
Activity |
What this entails |
31 Mar 2021 |
31 Jan 2022 |
31 Jan 2023 |
Part 27 |
The replacement of public lighting mercury vapour lamps (street/path lighting etc). |
|
|
Mercury vapour lamps removed |
Part 34 – J6 |
The replacement of low efficiency lights in a building that requires a building permit (renovations etc). |
Align with NCC 2019 IPD |
Activity removed |
|
Part 34-Non-J6 |
The replacement of most low efficiency lights in a commercial building. |
High Intensity Discharge (HID) lamps incentive reduced by 40% (including mercury vapour – canopies, floodlights, highbays) |
HID incentive further reduced by 60% |
Activities removed T5, T8, T12 and CFL remain |
Part 35 |
The replacement of pole- based lights (carparks etc). |
|
|
Mercury vapour lamps removed |
See the VEU website for more details: https://engage.vic.gov.au/victorian-energy-upgrades/lighting
What this means for you
The majority of commercial LED lighting upgrades that are undertaken fall within Part 34 – Non-J6, which will see two considerable drops in subsidy in the coming months and the removal of the subsidy altogether in January 2023. This will mean you will no longer receive a free lighting upgrade by the start of next year, or for the more complex jobs, you may be paying 40% more than you would today.
The good news
The subsidy is still at a record high price and most straight-forward LED upgrades with market-leading Shine On products will remain FREE until March next year. This includes highbays, floodlights, panels and battens across most industry types.
When you need to commit
In order to receive these record prices, your LED lighting upgrade and all VEU paperwork needs to be completed before March next year. With a lead time of between two weeks and two months (depending on the size of your project), now is the time to act or you risk paying considerably more if you sign up after 1 December.
Act now
Don’t wait, call us on 1300 013 648 or click the link below to arrange a free onsite inspection and quote. If you have already received a quote from us, get in touch and we’ll give you a new quote with higher subsidy.