The NSW Government introduced legislation requiring high energy users to prepare Energy Savings Action Plans in May 2005.
Designated users required to prepare Plans were identified in an Energy Savings Order (under the Energy and Utilities Administration Act 1987) published in the NSW Government Gazette on 28 October 2005.
Designated users required to prepare Energy Savings Action Plans were:
- Business and government sites across NSW using more than 10 gigawatt-hours per year of stationary energy
- Local councils across NSW with populations of more than 50,000.
Energy use at the sites covered by Energy Savings Action Plans comprises about 30 per cent of the total electricity use in NSW.
Designated users prepared Energy Savings Action Plans in accordance with the Guidelines for Energy Savings Action Plans.
Energy Savings Action Plans provided a comprehensive analysis of an organisation's energy use and management strategies. Plans involved determining baseline energy use, undertaking a management review, undertaking a detailed technical review or audit and assessing and identifying energy savings measures.
As at June 2009, all 267 Energy Savings Action Plans were approved and over 2,300 cost effective energy savings measures had been identified. Designated users are required to report to the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water NSW annually on the progress of the implementation of their Energy Savings Action Plan.