The New South Wales Government has announced a AUD$25 million (£13.4m) energy efficiency scheme that provides incentives to households and businesses for installing appliances that use less energy during peak times.

The Peak Demand Reduction Scheme is expected to start in summer 2022/23 and help consumers save around AUD$1.2 billion (£0.64bn) on their energy bills up to 2040.

The investment will support the development of emerging technologies and software and provide incentives for households to switch to solar and heat pump hot water systems and for businesses to replace gas, diesel or grid-supplied electricity with renewable energy technologies.

Energy Minister Matt Kean said: “There are so many easy ways to reduce our peak consumption without impacting our way of life.

“By reducing peak demand, we can supply power to everyone who needs it, when they need it, at a lower cost.”