diff --git a/src/rebar_prv_shell.erl b/src/rebar_prv_shell.erl
index 07e77992..c8230071 100644
--- a/src/rebar_prv_shell.erl
+++ b/src/rebar_prv_shell.erl
@@ -571,7 +571,7 @@ consult_env_config(State, Filename) ->
         {ok, Bin} -> unicode:characters_to_list(Bin)
     end,
     ReplacedStr = replace_env_vars(RawString),
-    case rebar_string:consult(unicode:characters_to_list(ReplacedStr)) of
+    case rebar_string:consult(ReplacedStr, utf8) of
         {error, Reason} ->
             throw(?PRV_ERROR({bad_term_file, Filename, Reason}));
         [Terms] ->
diff --git a/src/rebar_string.erl b/src/rebar_string.erl
index 56d6de3f..119923d6 100644
--- a/src/rebar_string.erl
+++ b/src/rebar_string.erl
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 %% Compatibility exports
 -export([join/2, split/2, lexemes/2, trim/1, trim/3, uppercase/1, lowercase/1, chr/2]).
 %% Util exports
--export([consult/1]).
+-export([consult/1, consult/2]).
 
 -ifdef(unicode_str).
 
@@ -55,10 +55,18 @@ chr(Str, Char) -> string:chr(Str, Char).
 
 %% @doc
 %% Given a string or binary, parse it into a list of terms, ala file:consult/1
--spec consult(unicode:chardata()) -> {error, term()} | [term()].
-consult(Str) ->
+-spec consult(unicode:chardata(), epp:source_encoding() | none) -> {error, term()} | [term()].
+consult(Str, none) ->
+    consult(Str, epp:default_encoding());
+consult(Bin, latin1) when is_binary(Bin) ->
+    consult([], binary_to_list(Bin), []);
+consult(Str, _) ->
     consult([], unicode:characters_to_list(Str), []).
 
+%% Backward compatibility for plugins.
+-spec consult(unicode:chardata()) -> {error, term()} | [term()].
+consult(Str) -> consult(Str, utf8).
+
 consult(Cont, Str, Acc) ->
     case erl_scan:tokens(Cont, Str, 0) of
         {done, Result, Remaining} ->
diff --git a/src/rebar_templater.erl b/src/rebar_templater.erl
index 7266f44e..22e3b772 100644
--- a/src/rebar_templater.erl
+++ b/src/rebar_templater.erl
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ list_templates(State) ->
 
 %% Expand a single template's value
 list_template(Files, {Name, Type, File}, State) ->
-    case rebar_string:consult(binary_to_list(load_file(Files, Type, File))) of
+    case consult_template(Files, Type, File) of
         {error, Reason} ->
             {error, {consult, File, Reason}};
         TemplateTerms ->
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ drop_var_docs([{K,V}|Rest]) -> [{K,V} | drop_var_docs(Rest)].
 %% Load the template index, resolve all variables, and then execute
 %% the template.
 create({Template, Type, File}, Files, UserVars, Force, State) ->
-    TemplateTerms = rebar_string:consult(binary_to_list(load_file(Files, Type, File))),
+    TemplateTerms = consult_template(Files, Type, File),
     Vars = drop_var_docs(override_vars(UserVars, get_template_vars(TemplateTerms, State))),
     maybe_warn_about_name(Vars),
     TemplateCwd = filename:dirname(File),
@@ -439,3 +439,7 @@ render(Bin, Context) ->
       [{key_type, atom},
        {escape_fun, fun(X) -> X end}] % disable HTML-style escaping
     ).
+
+consult_template(Files, Type, File) ->
+    TemplateBin = load_file(Files, Type, File),
+    rebar_string:consult(TemplateBin, epp:read_encoding_from_binary(TemplateBin)).