ICAN’s Yarnin’ Energy project launched earlier this month after receiving funding from the Queensland Department of Energy and Climate’s, Enable Grants Program. ICAN CEO, Aaron Davis, said, “Inflation has seriously impacted household budgets and higher energy costs contribute to the current cost of living crisis. We’re excited to launch our Yarnin’ Energy project, which combines, community events, training workshops, household energy mentoring and a social media campaign to help people take control of their energy usage, and associated bills.”
Paul Martyn, Director-General for the Department of Energy and Climate said, “It was special for me to hear that the Indigenous Consumer Assistance Network (ICAN) was a successful Enable Grants recipient. Based in Cairns, ICAN provide financial counselling and capability outreach services to some of the most socio-economically challenged Local Government Areas in Queensland. The $965,000 funding provided by the grant will be allocated to their Yarnin’ Energy initiative, which is a project that will deliver group energy literacy training to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander consumers.”
“The training will cover everything from energy-efficiency in the home, energy regulation, accessing energy rebates, managing energy bills, and other energy-related topics,” said Mr Martyn. “This is about more than just empowering local people and communities. This funding represents a significant step forward in our shared goal for more energy-literate communities in Queensland. This will equip vulnerable Queenslanders with the knowledge and resources that they need to navigate their energy use more effectively.”
ICAN Yarnin’ Energy Team Leader, Aimee Williams explained the added project benefits for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander consumers in our service region. “Our Yarnin’ Energy team will utilise existing ICAN services and referral partners to help people access energy efficient appliances through our Thrive Matched Savings program or the No Interest Loans Scheme (NILS). Time that participants spend with a Yarnin’ Energy Mentor in group training, or our one-on-one services can also be used to reduce State Penalty Enforcement Registry (SPER) debts by $50.00 per hour. The Yarnin’ Energy team will also provide home energy audits to identify energy spending leaks, set energy bill saving goals and assist with access to energy rebates and concessions.”
The Yarnin’ Energy team will have an information stall with project partner, Energy Queensland at the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair on Friday the 25th and Saturday the 26th of July. Watch this space for more upcoming Community Yarnin’ Energy events that we’ll be holding with project partners, Energy Water Ombudsman of Queensland and Energy Queensland over the coming months.