Corangamite Shire councillors say it's high time residents got cheaper energy and benefited from living in green energy zones.
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The comments came from coastal ward councillor Jamie Vogels and north ward councillor Nick Cole at the council's April meeting.
There, councillors signalled the organisation's intent to enter into an agreement with the Victorian Energy Collaboration (VECO) 2.0 Joint Procurement Contract for cheaper electricity supply to small and large market metered council sites.
The estimated cost for the first year under the contract - from July 1, 2024 to December 31, 2030 - would be $246,246.
While central ward councillor Laurie Hickey and Cr Vogels both supported the move because it would give ratepayers a better deal, Cr Vogels said it would cost residents significantly more to buy the same product themselves.
"Council's energy costs would've gone up substantially if we stayed on the same contract under the same conditions," he said.
"By signing up for the VECO agreement, which a lot of councils have already done in inner city Melbourne and I've heard them sprucing about that, it's 100 per cent renewable energy (and) gives us the best deal.
"What about the small business or homeowner? Then this would cost me 100 times more to sign up to 100 per cent renewables.
"I'd question whether this is an attempt to buy favour with councils across the state, noting the areas that renewable energy is generating is not metropolitan Melbourne, does not affect councils or businesses in the inner city suburbs who are getting the most benefits from these deals.
"Instead what I'd like to see is communities living in designated green zones which are living with the wind factories and solar factories and carbon farmers benefiting from the good deals not just government and that includes councils.
"Would it not be a better, fairer system to have cheaper energy for those places for residents and local government actually living and working in these green zones?".
Cr Cole agreed with Cr Vogels and said the north of the shire was quickly becoming "a wind factory".
"All the electricity is exported out of the area into Melbourne," he said.
"We get the eyesore, we don't get any of the benefit. I think it's time we should be able to get some of the benefit of this cheaper energy which is generated in our area."
