Fridges on ice but new figures show scale of bungled Victorian Energy Upgrades program

The eye-watering value of the bungled appliances scheme has been revealed, with fears the rort is “one of the biggest ripoffs” in the state’s history.

Victoria has created ­almost $52m in carbon credits this year for installing energy efficient fridges under a now-suspended appliances scheme that was rorted.

New figures reveal the scale of the Victorian Energy Upgrades program, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, as it comes under scrutiny. It awards carbon credits, or certificates, for installers who set up energy-­efficient appliances that would reduce electricity use and bring down emissions.

These are then sold to electricity companies to meet their legal net-zero targets.

But the Herald Sunlast month revealed a bungle that meant the carbon credits from display fridges were so valuable that some installers gave them away for free.

The scheme became a scam when some of these installers handed out fridges who did not want or ask for them, dumping dozens of appliances and peoples doorsteps and harassing other customers to take more.

Figures from the Essential Service Commission’s dashboard on the program have revealed the potential scale of the money exposed to rorting.

The market price for the credits fluctuate, but currently are worth about $60 each.

In 2022, there have been 861,490 certificates registered from installers reporting energy efficient fridges valued at a total of about $51.7m.

The entire scheme has registered 3.6 million credits this year, worth $216m.

Authorities first started to become aware of the fridge rort when they noticed a massive surge in the number of credits for fridge installing “activities” being claimed.

It became so popular that a quarter of all credits created in March were from fridges, raising alarm bells that many of these were phony which were later proven correct.

Businesses have been bombarded with free fridges in a bizarre bungle. Picture: Jacqui Felgate

Other parts of the VEU have not been immune to bad behaviour, with one company suspended this week over allegations of fraud involving light installations.

Nearly $3m in carbon credits they had created were confiscated.

Both scandals have raised concerns about how many of these millions of carbon credits are going towards the state’s net zero goals.

Fridge installations and lighting upgrades are the two most popular source of carbon credits under the scheme, making up nearly three quarters of the program in 2022.

One installer, who asked to remain anonymous, said they believed the VEU was being rorted regularly.

“It is not just fridges,” he said.

“They are just the most glaring example of issues within the program that have been there for years.

“These problems go back all the way back to how the energy upgrades scheme was written and it has somehow flown under the radar.

“The ESC doesn’t have the resources to chase down every person in a market where tens of thousands of appliances get installed every month.”

Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio has suspended VEU credits for fridges pending a full investigation.

But this has also led to headaches, with businesses warning they now have thousands of fridges left in containers and do not know how to get rid of them.

Some installers spent as much as $100,000 on fridges that have arrived at the Port of Melbourne and now cannot be used.

Ms D’Ambrosio said the government had acted swiftly by removing credits for fridges,

“Our investigations revealed systematic gaming of the VEU program by some unscrupulous providers, which is completely unacceptable and undermines community confidence in the program,” she said.

“It is our responsibility to maintain the integrity of the VEU and actions like those reported threaten the community’s confidence in this highly successful program, which has helped more than 2 million Victorian households and businesses cut their energy bills and created local jobs while we aim to halve emissions by 2030.”

“We’re constantly reviewing the VEU program to ensure that it’s delivering good value for Victorians and delivering the intended emission reductions.”

Opposition climate change spokesman James Newbury said the rorting of the scheme “stinks”.

“Labor’s fridge rort is shaping up to be one of the biggest ripoffs in our State’s history,” he said.

“The Government has flushed millions of dollars down the drain.

“Only Labor could damage the environment, and waste money, with a scheme that is supposed to do the opposite.”