NGER Act: Thresholds Lower Again as Third Reporting Year Approaches

The third reporting period of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007 (NGER Act) is fast approaching and commences on 1 July 2010.

As at 1 July 2010, the thresholds under the NGER Act will decrease as follows:

• Energy consumption - from 350 terajoules to 200 terajoules;
• Energy production - from 350 terajoules to 200 terajoules;
• Greenhouse gas emissions - from 87.5 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent greenhouse gas emissions to 50 kilotonnes.

As a practical guide, 200 terajoules is equivalent to approximately 55,000 megawatt hours. This means that the controlling corporation of any corporate group that consumes around 55,000mwh of energy may need to register and report under the NGER Act (note however that there are a number of technical and legal tests that may impact upon how your aggregate energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions are calculated).