Aircons to get remote switches

Energy companies may get the power to switch on and off home airconditioners remotely. Picture: Thinkstock Source: Herald Sun

ALL home airconditioners sold in Australia would be designed to be remotely switched on and off by power companies during extreme heat, under a plan to reduce electricity bills.

Manufacturers of airconditioners, water heaters, pool pumps and electric car chargers would be required to offer "smart appliances" that were capable of being "cycled" on and off during the peak demand times - with customer permission.

This would add an estimated $10 to appliance prices, but potentially cut electricity bills for all households by $60-$120 a year, by reducing pressure on the power grid.

The forecast savings are mainly based on up to half of airconditioned households eventually taking part.

Airconditioner trials in some states had resulted in "only limited discomfort". Most users didn't notice.

Maintaining reliable supply for "peak demand events" - which occur for less than 40 hours a year - makes up a quarter of consumers' electricity bills.

An Equipment Energy Efficiency Committee consultation paper proposes that appliances sold after June next year have mandatory "interfaces" that could be activated to communicate with the electricity network.

The federal-state government advisory body says this would encourage power providers and consumers to curb peak demand through "direct load control".

"Under the direct load control approach, consumers have a choice to allow certain household appliances to be remotely controlled by their electricity provider, which will reduce the demands placed on network capacity at peak times," it notes.

"The main benefit ... is the reduced need for investment in costly electricity network infrastructure."

The committee will decide whether to recommend new appliance regulations after receiving submissions.

Australian Energy Market Commission and Senate inquiry reports late last year identified the potential for lower costs by allowing remote control of appliances.

The managing director of the Energy Supply Association of Australia, Andrew Dillon, supported the push.

The Consumer Action Law Centre's Janine Rayner said it was important to be sure that the benefits stacked up, and that customers were fully informed.

karen.collier@news.com.au

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Two brothers found dead at remote farm

Two men aged in their 60s have been found dead in a property in regional Victoria.

A SECONDARY crime scene over the suspected murders of two prominent sheep breeders has been established in East Bendigo.

Douglas and John Streeter, both in their 60s, are thought to have been discovered by John's wife in the front garden of the farmhouse at Natte Yallock in Victoria's northwest about 5.30pm yesterday.

The men are believed to have suffered gunshot wounds to the head and chest.

Police have now converged on a property at Pipers Lane in East Bendigo, about 90km away.

Homicide detectives are investigating the incident, which has rocked the small Natte Yallock farming community, 200km northwest of Melbourne.

Elders Bendigo district wool manager Adam Millard, centre, visited John, left, and Douglas Streeter at their property on Wednesday and said it was business as usual.

Police do not believe the double fatality was a murder-suicide, but have not revealed if they are searching for a third party.

The brothers had recently struggled with ill health, a neighbour told 3AW radio.

Relative Alan Streeter said the family were unsure how the brothers had died.

Distraught family members briefly visited the grim scene and were said to be "inconsolable".

Police at the farmhouse where the bodies were found. Picture: Kris Durston

The deaths happened 1km along Streeter Lane, at the home of John Streeter.

Douglas lived in nearby Avoca, about 17km south of Natte Yallock.

Robert Vance, a councillor and former mayor of the local Pyrenees Shire council, has known the men all his life and was struggling to understand what happened.

"It is just beyond belief," he said.

Investigators at the scene yesterday evening. Picture: Kris Durston

"I just cannot put any sense to it whatsoever.

"They don't make enemies. They are not those sort of people.

"They go out of their way to help people."

Mr Vance said locals were in a state of disbelief.

"I guess time will bring the truth out," he said.

"It is just so hard to understand at the moment."

Mr Vance said he had known the men all his life and had done national service with Douglas in the late 1960s.

The family had bred Merino sheep in the area for at least three or four generations, he said.

Elders Bendigo district wool manager, Adam Millard, said he had visited the brothers at the property on Wednesday and there was no hint of the tragedy which unfolded.

"We talked business just as normal ... there was nothing," Mr Millard said.

"They were upstanding well-known locals , until it is resolved everyone will be in shock.

"The Streeter's have been around forever."

Mr Millard said John and Doug were active members at the football club, often volunteering to fire up the barbecue.

An Avoca resident said the brothers were respected in the area, and the town was devastated by the deaths.

"I knew Doug, he was an absolute gentleman," the business owner, who didn't want to be named, said.

"It is a shocking loss, we are just trying to come to grips with this."

The men were key members of the Lodden Valley Merino Breeders Association and they were at a sale just last week, 3AW reported.

President Norman Weir said he was in "disbelief" over the news of their deaths.

"They were very good farmers, a long family history. They have been members of the Natte Yallock area for generations," he said.

Ambulance Victoria spokesman John Mullen said they were called out to an "extremely serious incident".

Detectives remain at the scene, with the lane cordoned off.

They are appealing for anyone with information about the deaths to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit www.crimestoppers.com.au

- with AAP

jon.kaila@news.com.au

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