Printers facing massive jumps in their energy bills may be forced to cut staff members in a bid to reduce costs.
PIAA officials are in Canberra this week meeting with federal MPs to express their concerns over the ‘near-dire’ energy cost and supply situation that’s threatening the printing industry.
‘Rising electricity prices and the instability of supply are very serious issues facing our industry,” says Printing Industries CEO Andrew Macaulay, who’s in Canberra with the PIAA’s director of government relations Mary Jo Fisher and president Kieran May.
“We’re seeing about 25 members of parliament from the government, the opposition and the cross-benches to talk about energy security,” says Macaulay. “There seems to be a disconnect between the federal government and the states on the issue and we are calling for increased co-operation between all of the interested parties. Just yesterday, there were three blackouts in Parliament House itself when we were there. We actually ended up sitting in the dark in the office of [Minister for Industry] Arthur Sinodinos.
“Our members are facing 30 percent price increases in energy supply from last year and it is having an effect on their ability to employ people. On top of that, the blackouts are affecting print businesses and have the potential to cause serious damage to machinery that may be running at top speed."
Peter Lane, owner of leading South Australia printer Lane Print Group and a member of the PIAA board, says his business is facing huge increases in energy bills that could threaten jobs.
“We’ve just signed a new three-year contract with our energy supplier and consultants came in and projected our energy bill will increase by 30 percent, from $20,000 a month to $30,000 a month. That’s an increase of $120,000 a year, from $240,000 to $360,000, locked in for the next three years, just to keep the lights on. All we’re doing is paying more for the same service as we had before.
“It’s a huge increase and, obviously, it’s got to be paid for somehow but you can’t pass that increase on to the customers. We’ll need to reduce costs in some shape or form and, principally, we’ll need to look at our staffing levels. At this stage, the full impact of the increases won’t become more obvious until we move closer towards June.
Lane took a swipe at the South Australian government over the recent power blackouts in the state.
“I think it’s been a complete stuff-up by the state government in particular. The baseline power is not always available and then we have to rely on interstate power coming in to the state. There’s been a lot of folly about what wind farms and solar energy can do but we’re beholden to decisions made by a government with an ideology of pursuing clean energy at any costs.”
Printing Industries last week launched a member survey about energy security, asking for feedback about the problems created by energy price rises and the recent power blackouts, and is using the feedback from its members in this week's lobbying of federal politicians.