In late July the Queensland Minister for Primary Industries announced that the Local Government areas of Balonne, Southern Downs, Goondiwindi and the south of Maranoa are drought declared.

As well as the financial support measures announced by the Minister, farms in drought declared areas may be eligible to a waiver on the fixed charge components of their electricity bill, which includes the daily charges and also for large customers, the metering charges. Farms can also apply to have up to 12 months of payment deferral approved.

The DRECS application process is different for Ergon Energy customers and customers of other energy providers. Choose the application process below based on who your energy provider is.

Farms in the Ergon supply area can apply on the Ergon Energy Retail website:  Drought relief - Ergon Energy

Queensland Farms that are not in Ergon’s supply area can apply on the Queensland Treasury Website: Drought Relief from Electricity Charges Scheme (DRECS) | Business Queensland

Farms should check their eligibility for the scheme and apply via the Ergon Energy and Queensland Treasury websites above.

There are a number of financial support measures managed by QRIDA to assist farmers in drought declared areas including:

• the Emergency Drought Assistance Loan: Emergency Drought Assistance Loans

• the Drought Carry-on Finance Loan: Drought Carry-on Finance Loans

There are also a number of programs to help prepare for drought and other natural disasters including QFFs Farm Business Resilience Program:  See details of the program here:  https://www.qff.org.au/projects/farm-business-resilience-program

 Energy Information Service for Landholders 

Farmers who are unsure where to start can contact The Energy Information Service for Landholders to discuss bills, tariffs, energy data, load shifting opportunities and questions to ask installers. This is a free phone service for farmers and landholders in Queensland. 

The service is available Monday – Friday from 8:30am – 5pm and can assist by providing information and guidance on a range of energy matters. 

Call 07 3329 7500 to access the service today.