Govt slugs councils as it struggles with energy charges

The State Government is cranking up the amount it charges local councils for energy and maintenance of street lighting on arterial roads.
The Government has told councils it can no longer carry increased energy charges and will need to pass the costs onto councils.
It says the increased energy costs are “impacting” its ability to maintain service levels for street lights, traffic signals and other electrical infrastructure.
Indaily understands the increases total more than $800,000 per year, with the amounts varying from council to council.
Some larger councils will pay more than $10,000 extra per month. For others, the increase is smaller and a handful of councils have had their charges reduced.
The western suburbs seem to have been hardest hit, with monthly increases of more than $6000 for Holdfast council, $8909 for Charles Sturt, more than $13,000 for Port Adelaide/Enfield and $6938 for West Torrens.
Onkaparinga Council is also hard hit, with an increase per month of $10,131. The City of Adelaide will pay a contribution for the first time – $621 per month.
In a letter to the Local Government Association (LGA) in late April, Acting Transport and Infrastructure Minister Jack Snelling said the additional charges were necessary “given the continuing energy cost increases”.
“To date DPTI (Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure) has been paying all energy cost increases from within existing budget allocations, however this cannot continue as it is impacting upon its ability to maintain service levels for street lighting, traffic signals and other electrical infrastructure,” the letter said.
Councils say the move is particularly galling as they don’t believe they should pay anything for lighting roads that are the responsibility of the State Government, despite this being a long-standing arrangement.
Councils are also angry that the Government imposed the new charges after councils had fixed their budgets for the year.
The new charges are in place from January this year, but the LGA had asked the Government to move the start date to July to allow councils to adjust their budgets.
The letter from Snelling advised the LGA that the Government would not rethink the start date.
LGA President David O’Loughlin told Indaily the move was frustrating, given increases were not foreshadowed before councils finalised their budgets.
“What is incredibly disappointing is the large increase in costs for the supply charge and we continue to argue that we are being charged too much across the whole street lighting network,” O’Loughlin said.
“This highlights a cost that was shifted onto local government many years ago, whereby up to 50 per cent of the State Government’s lighting costs on State Government owned roads, where the light falls on local footpaths, can be charged to the councils.
“Local government owns over 75,000km of local roads and we are happy to pay all lighting costs on our own roads but it is unfair for us to pay for lighting on roads that we don’t own.”
A spokesperson for DPTI said street lighting “benefits residents and businesses in terms of improved public safety, security and amenity as well as providing real benefits for road users”.
“The Highways Act allows for the equal sharing of the cost for the operation and maintenance of street lighting between the State Government and councils unless the Commissioner of Highways issues a notice to take over care and control of a specific road, generally the busier arterial roads.
“The costs to all councils for this street lighting have not increased since 2005 and the State Government has borne the increases to this point. In 2012, DPTI completed a review of street lighting along arterial roads and specifically identified those lights which provide benefits to council rate payers and to ensure councils met their shared obligations for funding street lighting for residents and business abutting arterial roads.
“To reduce some costs to local government, DPTI and the LGA, on behalf of all councils, are currently negotiating with SA Power Networks, to reduce the charge for the maintenance of street lighting on all roads.”
Opposition local government spokesman Steven Griffiths said he didn’t have a problem with the Government and councils having an agreement to share costs, but he strongly disapproved of the “unilateral” decision making which didn’t take into account council budget processes.
“That’s a complete and utter disrespect,” he said.