Greenhouse Gas Reduction Scheme

The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Scheme (GGAS) commenced on 1 January 2003.  The Scheme imposes mandatory greenhouse gas benchmarks on all NSW electricity retailers and certain other parties - including large electricity users who elect to manage their own benchmark - to abate a portion of the greenhouse gas emissions attributable to their sales/consumption of electricity in NSW.  These parties are referred to as benchmark participants. To date, a variety of large electricity users have elected to manage their own benchmarks.

Abatement certificates (also known as NGACs) are created by accredited abatement certificate providers who undertake eligible abatement activities in power generation, energy efficiency, and forest-based carbon sequestration.  Large electricity users that are elective benchmark participants can also be accredited for eligible abatement activities in industrial process emissions.  These abatement certificates are called LUACs. An active market for abatement certificates has developed and there is a strong and growing demand for this commodity.  Accreditation of abatement certificate providers is managed by IPART in its role as the Scheme Administrator.

Full details of the Scheme, including application forms, guides to applying and other documents are available from the scheme website at www.greenhousegas.nsw.gov.au

Details of accredited abatement certificate providers and the certificates they have registered are available at www.ggas-registry.nsw.gov.au