Market Update | 14 August 2026

• • Retrofit Melbourne Financial Incentive Scheme launched by City of Melbourne

  • CHBP installations reach half a million

City of Melbourne launches Retrofit Melbourne Financial Incentive Scheme.

The City of Melbourne has released the guidelines for their three-year pilot initiative supporting its goal of becoming a zero-carbon city by 2040. Designed for privately owned, mid-tier office buildings over 15 years old with low or unrated energy performance, the scheme aims to address financial barriers by providing partial reimbursements for energy benchmarking, decarbonisation planning, and retrofitting works.

Targeted Buildings
Applies to private commercial office properties in the City of Melbourne municipality that are;

• • More than 15 years old,

  • A floorspace between 1,000m2 – 20,000m2, and

  • Either have a NABERS Energy rating of 4 stars and below, or are unrated.

Staged Funding Structure

Offers up to 50% co-contributions across key project stages:

• • Benchmarking (Activity A)
    Up to $2,500 for an initial NABERS rating and $1,250 for a post-upgrade rating.

  • Action Planning (Activity B)

    Up to $7,500 for an energy/carbon plan or electrification feasibility study.

  • Implementation (Activity C)
    Up to $40,000 for capital works achieving a minimum 0.5-star NABERS uplift.

For further information and to get involved, please contact our Account Management Team.

Cheaper Home Batteries hits 500,000 milestone.

Australia’s federal Cheaper Home Batteries rebate scheme has reached a major milestone, with installations reaching the 500,000 mark. The impact of the rapid adoption has already started to show in Origin Energy’s gas consumption data, with peaks in 2025 comparatively flattened in 2026.

Adoption has been driven primarily in outer-suburban and regional areas, as households with larger roof space for rooftop solar have capitalised on the reduced battery capital outlay.

Though weekly uptake rates have slowed since the wind-down in incentives, average weekly installation volumes are persisting above the 2,000 mark through the start of the new financial year.

Weekly Market Update | 10 – 14 August 2026

Large-Scale Generation Certificates (LGCs)

The recent rally in LGCs continued apace this week and appeared destined to break into double figures before momentum stalled in late-week trading, which saw prices soften to close below the $9.00 level.

After markets opened on Monday at $8.00, strong buying interest drove gains in both the spot and forwards vintages – peaking on Wednesday, with CAL27s transacting as high as $9.80. Following sessions failed to replicate the same buying intent, which saw sell-offs and closed the week with most vintages settling between $8.00-$8.75.

This volatility is anticipated to continue as the picture of future LGC demand continues to become clearer following last week’s news confirming that new data centres would be required to purchase non-renewable consumption with offsets.

Victorian Energy Efficiency Certificates (VEECs)

VEECs were largely quiet this week, initially losing ground in mid-week trading before mostly regaining the losses to close a step lower at $82.25.

The forward market livened somewhat on Thursday, with parcels for late 2026 and early 2027 agreed between $82.75 – $83.35, representing a slight upwards curve.

This curve could be set to steepen, with changes to Activity 6 (High Efficiency Air Conditioning) expected to flatten certificate creation set to be introduced at the end of next month. The changes include caps to incentives and increases to minimum co-payments for the installation of multi-split units after ongoing concerns over non-compliance. This continues a stretch of regulatory action against Accredited Persons (APs) under the program, as two further accreditations were cancelled and another was suspended this month.

Energy Saving Certificates (ESCs)

It was a quiet week for ESCs, trading sideways throughout the week to close where it opened at $29.75.

There was a steep increase in weekly registrations at just over 37,000 certificates – a marked contrast to the previous week. This brought monthly registration volumes to 39,000 ESCs, on track to eclipse last week’s paltry total of 48,000.

While the Home Energy Saver is hoped to facilitate growth in ESC volumes, the liquidity surplus that is currently stabilising the price is quickly eroding. Without meaningful changes to the Energy Savings Scheme (ESS) and the introduction of new activities to spur creation, the industry is still waiting to see where the ESCs will come from heading into 2027.

Peak Reduction Certificates (PRCs)

There was minimal movement in the PRC market this week, as the industry remains in a holding pattern awaiting the introduction of commercial battery activities at the start of next month.

Spot prices dipped slightly in early-week trading, before later sessions recouped losses to close a step higher at $2.82.

Weekly registrations experienced a sharp spike at over 1.7m certificates on the back of a series of registrations under the Refrigerated Cabinet activity by a single Accredited Certificate Provider (ACP).

Australian Carbon Credit Units (ACCUs)

ACCUs again saw little meaningful action, as prices continue to meander towards breaching the $39.00 level, closing at $38.90. Should we see prices elevate beyond the threshold, this would represent new ground for ACCUs, which have previously failed to reach these heights.

Small-Scale Technology Certificates (STCs)

At Ecovantage, we consistently analyse market activity, policy changes, consultation releases, and creation rates in conjunction with wider landscape activity. This allows us to keep our clients at the forefront of all relevant changes, and to leverage the advantage that this presents. Thank you for your continued support, and please reach out if you have any general or project-specific questions.