Supporting small businesses through the business of electrification

Project Summary

Australia’s small and medium enterprises are central to employment, community vitality and economic resilience, yet many are left behind in the energy transition. Evidence from Energy Consumers Australia (ECA) and COSBOA shows a large share of SMEs experience energy hardship and express interest in electrification, but struggle to act. The core system problem isn’t lack of awareness alone – it’s misalignment between regulatory settings, market design, and support mechanisms, and the real financial, operational, and time constraints shaping small business decision-making.

For asset-fixed and energy-intensive SMEs in sectors like manufacturing, retail and hospitality, electrification often sits behind immediate pressures of cash flow, staffing and compliance. Tariff structures failing to align with operating hours, limited access to capital or concessional finance, weak protections in embedded networks, and fragmented incentive programs extend payback horizons and heighten perceived risk. Consequently, businesses that would benefit most from lower long-term energy costs and improved resilience are least able to invest.

This project addresses this system failure by providing ECA and policymakers with an evidence framework linking SME characteristics to specific regulatory, policy and market levers, enabling targeted reform of tariffs, incentives, and advisory systems, ensuring electrification pathways are practical, equitable, and designed around the realities of small-business consumers.

Read more on the grant awarded by Energy Consumers Australia here.