20 Oct • Written By Jarred Nielson

Where Tasmanian cafés and restaurants use energy: a practical audit checklist

Much of a Tasmanian café’s or restaurant’s electricity can be used when nobody is being served. The fridges and cool room run all night. Hot water reheats. A grill or bain-marie can go on at opening and stay on until close.

That is where to look before you change any equipment. This checklist takes one normal day and one walk through the kitchen after close.

Regulated Aurora prices went up from 1 July, including for typical household and small-business customers, and the regulator approved changes that generally raise the daily supply charge and lower usage charges (ABC News, June 2026). Read both lines on your bill: the daily charge you pay regardless, and the usage that moves with what is left on. A higher bill still does not tell you which part of the kitchen to look at.

The bill can tell you what the site bought. It cannot, on its own, tell you which hours, equipment or routines are behind it.¹

Write down the day, then walk the kitchen after close

On a normal day, note when staff arrive, when preparation starts, when service finishes and when the last person leaves. Add deliveries and cleaning. Include a quiet day as well as a busy one.

After the last person has left, walk the kitchen and write down what is still on.

Refrigeration, and the controls that keep food safe, stay on that list unless a competent review says otherwise.² Do not switch those off to see what the meter does.

Anything else needs a reason to be on. That includes cooking equipment left on between services, hot water still heating after the job is done, and heating or ventilation running outside preparation, service and cleaning. Kitchen extraction has a job to do. Switching it off to chase a lower reading is not a plan.

Ask the chef which appliances need preheating, which stay on between services, and who shuts them down. Do not guess that from the nameplate.

For hot water, name the system and the jobs it serves. Dishwashing, cleaning and the staff amenities can need different times and temperatures. Check those requirements before you change any controls.

Check what meter the site has. An older accumulation meter records a running total and nothing else. If there is no interval data, which shows use through the day, ask your retailer what is available, and note that it is missing.

Note the refrigeration you can see

List the fridges, freezers and cool rooms. For each one, note:

door seals that are torn, flattened or not closing properly;
when it was last serviced, and by whom;
anything blocking the airflow it needs, including stock stacked against vents;
where the condenser sits. The Australian Government guide says condensers need good airflow to get rid of heat, and cooling equipment should be kept away from heat sources. A fridge beside the oven, or a condenser in a closed cupboard, is worth a note; and
for a cool room, gaps around panels or pipes, and whether the door is propped open during deliveries.

The same guide says a set-point should be no colder than it needs to be. That is a question for your refrigeration technician, inside the food-safety limits you already work to. If a temperature or the equipment looks wrong, have the appropriate technician check it.³

Bring a year of bills, with the changes marked

For a basic audit, the Australian Government guidance asks for at least 12 months of bills, and as much as you know about usage patterns, such as weekly equipment hours.¹ Collect any interval data for the same year. Mark a change in opening hours or equipment, so it is not read as a saving or a fault.

A short pack is more useful than a folder of bills with no notes. Include the equipment list, the timetable, the energy data, any maintenance concerns and quotes you already have. Note who owns the equipment and who can approve a change.

Ask for recommendations that separate day-to-day changes, maintenance and capital work. Each proposed project needs a stated basis for its cost and its benefit, what it depends on, and the next step required to confirm it. Changing gas cooking to electric, for example, can need switchboard or supply work before the new equipment goes in. Some equipment that still works may be better replaced when it is due than replaced now. Ask which items those are.

PowerSmart for Small Business can reimburse eligible Tasmanian small businesses up to $1,000 towards an independent energy audit. It is for businesses with 1 to 19 full-time-equivalent staff, and the proposed audit scope can be pre-approved before the work starts. Check the current guidelines before you assume you are eligible.⁴

Start with the list of what is still on after close. It costs nothing, it keeps the kitchen working, and it is the information an auditor will ask you for.

Frequently asked questions

What should a Tasmanian café check before an energy audit?

After the last person leaves, write down what is still on. Leave refrigeration and food-safety controls on unless a competent review says otherwise.

Will the electricity bill show which equipment to change?

No. The bill shows what the site bought. The hours, the equipment and the routines show where to look.

Can PowerSmart help pay for a café energy audit in Tasmania?

Eligible Tasmanian small businesses with 1 to 19 full-time-equivalent staff can claim up to $1,000 towards an independent energy audit. The audit scope can be pre-approved first. Check the current program guidelines.

Thinking about replacing a fridge, cool room, hot-water unit or cooking line, or has the bill gone up without a change in trading? That is the time to ask about a PowerSmart energy audit. We provide a written scope and quote first, which eligible businesses can submit for pre-approval. We do not sell equipment or take commissions.