Up to $20,000 will be available to help struggling small businesses get help with their power bills as the economy continues to recovery from COVID-19.

Small businesses across Australia can now apply for a share in $9 million of grants under the Federal Government’s Energy Efficient Communities Program.

The grants will be available to businesses with an annual turnover of less than $10 million to upgrade equipment to reduce energy consumption, invest in monitoring systems to better manage energy use and conduct energy audits to investigate other opportunities for efficiency.

Federal Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor said the grants will help small businesses reduce their power bills, which will ease financial pressure during these tough economic times.

“As small businesses come out of COVID-19 hibernation, we want to help them lower their power bills so they can spend money on more important aspects of their business, or expand and employ more people,” Mr Taylor said.

Federal Leichhardt MP Warren Entsch said small businesses are key to getting the economy back on track as Australia responds to the impact of COVID-19.

“Small businesses across Leichhardt are the lifeblood of our community and the backbone of our economy,” Mr Entsch said.

“Providing support to unlock energy savings in their operations will only add to the resilience of these businesses.”

To ensure an equitable distribution of funding across Australia, up to three grants per electorate will be awarded to eligible small businesses.

The Energy Efficient Communities program aims to deliver grants to help businesses and community organisations improve energy efficiency practices and technologies, and better manage energy consumption to reduce their power bills.

Small business owners who wish to apply for a grant can access the guidelines and application forms at business.gov.au or by telephone on 13 28 46.

Small businesses can also get free advice on better energy deals and increasing their energy efficiency through the Business Energy Advice Program (BEAP).