Green energy empire banned from NSW over dodgy tests

A company run by Xiang Hu has made tens of millions of dollars selling fridges and other appliances in a government scheme. They have now been banned for “misleading” the regulator and “exaggerating” the energy saving benefits.

Xiang Hu, whose company had been reprimanded by IPART for dodgy fridges, has made millions of dollars through a renewable energy scheme. Pictured Facebook

A Chinese green energy mogul’s company, which made tens of millions of dollars from lucrative incentives, has been banned from a government scheme after providing false information to the regulator about its products.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal Xiang Hu, the director of Phenix Trading Pty Ltd and Phenix LED Saves, appears to have relocated to a luxury home on the Gold Coast, while adopting the first name “Ivan” on social media.

Mr Hu’s business has been trading for more than a decade inside the NSW and Victorian green energy programs, established to encourage consumers to purchase more efficient household appliances.

Multiple industry sources claimed Phenix flooded the market with foreign-made refrigerators in recent years, using brand names like “Snow White” and “Antarctica”, during a time when the incentives were so lucrative they could be sold and installed for just $250.

In July last year, the company suddenly removed more than a dozen products from the national energy database after refusing to comply with product testing.

In July last year, Phenix suddenly removed more than a dozen products from the national energy database after refusing to comply with product testing.

The NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) subsequently conducted an investigation which found Phenix had “falsified test reports” and “exaggerated the energy efficiency” of several appliances.

It was further established Phenix wrongly advised it had no freezers left in stock for examination, only for the company to sell an additional 2000 units.

Mr Hu’s company has now been banished from the NSW scheme and blocked from claiming a further $10m worth of energy credits.

The website for Phenix LED Saves appears to have been stripped and multiple attempts to connect with the company’s call centre were unsuccessful on Monday.

Some of their recent 1-star Google Reviews include one customer declaring they are “the worst freezers ever”. Another claims their restaurant electricity bill “doubled in four months” after having two units installed.

Phenix fridges offered as part of the NSW government's $275 scheme.

Property documents reveal Mr Hu to be the owner of two Sydney houses in Campsie and Ashfield. He also purchased a “grand trophy home” on the Gold Coast for $3.9m in 2023.

When approached by this masthead, Mr Hu offered a “no comment”, insisting he did “not have time for media” as he was currently overseas caring for a sick relative.

In a statement, IPART member Sharon Henrick said it had “imposed the most severe administrative sanction available” by removing Mr Hu’s company from the energy incentive, while also blocking the company from collecting an additional $10m worth of energy credits.

When asked if other action had been considered over the findings, Ms Henrick said IPART had decided to “impose an immediate sanction that had substantial financial consequences”, which would “avoid the cost, time and uncertainty of a criminal prosecution”.

The NSW Energy Security Safeguard program has resulted in hundreds of thousands of fridges, heat pumps and air-conditioners installed at discounted rates in recent years. The scheme is paid for through a liability in consumer’s quarterly power bills.

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Originally published as Green energy empire banned from NSW over dodgy tests