The South Australian Business Chamber, South Australia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and peak body for business is seeking insight into the significance of electricity and gas prices for commercial operators, through its December quarter Survey of Business Expectations, which is launching today.
Kendall Crowe, the South Australian Business Chamber’s General Manager of Policy, Advocacy, and International Services said “having a greater understanding of business owners’ current issues and concerns in this area will help us strengthen our advocacy in 2023, as we aim to work with governments on lowering the cost of doing business in our state.
The South Australian Business Chamber intends on taking a deep dive into energy policies in 2023, understanding it is one of the largest ongoing expenses for many businesses.
“The June 2022 quarter Survey of Business Expectations identified energy prices as one of the top issues keeping business operators awake at night.
“We want to know the scale of increases they have experienced. We are also interested in understanding if they have explored energy efficiencies and made investments in renewables.
“We know there will also be opinions about hydrogen plants, solar and wind farms, and the ongoing debate about a potential nuclear program in South Australia, so we want to know their thoughts on those too,” said Ms Crowe.
The South Australian Business Chamber CEO Andrew Kay said, “recent government intervention into the energy market will slow price increases in 2023 but will not make a substantial impact for many businesses, so we must keep exploring ways to cut costs.
“Only this week we provided a submission to the Essential Services Commission in relation to its Inquiry into Retail Energy Prices, where we encouraged an investigation into the lack of a clear policy agenda for South Australia’s energy transition and its impacts on wholesale and retail prices”, Mr Kay added.
The South Australian Business Chamber will be taking findings to its energy, water, and sustainability reference groups to explore possibilities that can support businesses, before presenting any potential policy proposals to governments.
All findings from the South Australian Business Chamber’s Survey of Business Expectations, powered by William Buck will be published in the quarterly ‘Business Now’ report scheduled for release in February.
Business owners are encouraged to complete the December quarter Survey of Business Expectations due to close at the end of January.
Complete the survey here > https://www.research.net/r/SOBEDECQ22
MEDIA CONTACT
Anthony Caldwell
Manager – Marketing, Media, Communications
Phone – 0421 508 075
Email – anthony.caldwell@business-sa.com
