WESTERN Health was hit with increased energy costs of more than $380,000 in the first six months of the federal government’s carbon tax, new data reveals.
A state government report released last week shows statewide hospital energy bills to December increased by an average of 15 per cent.
The audit was conducted using hospital billing records, previous energy usage and average carbon prices. It found the carbon tax had cost Victorian hospitals and health services an additional $6.71 million since last July.
A Western Health spokeswoman said Sunshine, Williamstown and Footscray hospitals had a combined total of $384,000 in additional power costs. The spokeswoman said Western Health expected the figure would be replicated in the second half of the financial year. WH had been active in reducing energy consumption by applying timers to equipment, adding aerators to taps to reduce hot water demand and replacing equipment with more energy-efficient options.
“We’re in the preliminary stages of entering an energy performance contract that will see our emissions profile reduce by up to 25 per cent in the next two years,” the spokeswoman said.
State Health Minister David Davis last week wrote to the federal government demanding urgent compensation.
A spokesman for Maribyrnong Labor MP Bill Shorten said governments had a responsibility to follow scientific advice. He said the the federal government was increasing hospital funding by $20 billion in the next 10 years to cover additional costs. Estimates showed the impact of the carbon price would be equivalent to three cents in every $10 that hospitals spent.
