Up to $20,000 grants to eligible Tasmanian businesses unveiled in March

The Franklin MHA said there were a large number of Tasmanian businesses that do not qualify for the Large Business Customer Electricity Support Scheme, while many businesses that might qualify had never heard of the scheme.

Under the initiative, eligible businesses can receive a one-off grant of up to $20,000 to help them through the present high energy price period.

To be eligible, businesses must use more than 150 megawatt hours of electricity per annum and must have executed a new fixed price electricity agreement in the period between April 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023.

"It turns out there are a large number of businesses that don't qualify for this scheme, despite being under extreme stress for rising energy costs," Mr Winter said.

"A large chunk of businesses have been left out, we've heard from [energy consultancy] Energy ROI that said only one in ten of hotels that they surveyed were actually eligible and these were businesses that were supposed to have been supported.

One of those was Kings Meadows-based company Pure Foods Eggs, which recently signed a new electricity supply contract with an energy cost that is 40-per-cent higher than its existing price.

Chief executive officer Kate Daley said the company was not eligible for the Large Business Customer Electricity Support Scheme since her existing power contract does not expire until the end of the year - well after the scheme's closing window at the end of this month.

"Because our energy contract didn't expire at the time of the grant being open, our company is ineligible, so we get nothing, but our electric prices are about to grow significantly," she said.

The egg producer last year invested in solar panels last year, and now generates about 100 kilowatt hours of its own electricity at its Longford farm.

But despite that, electricity still numbers among the top five of its biggest costs, Ms Daley said.

From January 1 next year, those costs will be 40 per cent higher.

She said she was disappointed that the company had missed out on the Large Business Customer Electricity Support Scheme.

"We get to apply for the interest-free loan if we want to do some upgrades, but that's all we're eligible for," she said, referring to the state government's $50 million Energy Saver Loan Scheme, which gives access to finance that can be used to purchase renewable energy equipment such as solar panels.

Only ten businesses have been able to access the scheme so far, totalling about $160,000 in funding - compared to the $6 million that had been budgeted, Mr Winter said.

"It's pretty clear the scheme is poorly advertised, it's poorly designed and is not working to help the businesses it was designed to help," he said.

Energy and Renewables Minister Guy Barnett said the scheme was aimed at helping businesses that have experienced financial strain due to contracting at a higher weighted average electricity price than their previous agreement.

He noted that applications for the scheme close on July 30 and that companies that found themselves locked out of it should get in contact with the government to discuss.

Ms Daley, who is also chair of the Launceston Chamber of Commerce, also claimed a lack of competition in the larger electricity contract market in Tasmania was partly responsible for the jump in her energy costs.

She said just two companies - Aurora Energy and Shell Energy - were offering electricity price contracts recently.

She also said Aurora Energy took several days to make contract price offers, and its policy that these offers must be accepted within 24 hours made it difficult to solicit counter-offers from Shell Energy.

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