A VICTORIAN Government election promise to revive public-run power supply will drive up costs and put “Mallee at risk of living in the dark”, claims Member for Mallee Anne Webster.
Premier Daniel Andrews last week promised to bring back the State Electricity Commission (SEC) to build new renewable energy projects if re-elected.
“Dan Andrews wants to gamble $1 billion of taxpayer money to revive the SEC in direct competition with a private sector already handling the transition to renewable energy,” Dr Webster said.
But Grattan Institute program director for energy Tony Wood said the private sector was not delivering the clean energy transition.
Writing in The Conversation, Mr Wood – who worked for 14 years as a senior Origin Energy executive – said failure by the private sector was the reason for the SEC move.
“For years, we’ve pretended the market can make the shift by itself, but it hasn’t,” Mr Wood wrote.
“Continuous government intervention and policy changes certainly didn’t help.
“Working through the government-appointed Energy Security Board to reform the market didn’t work either.
“We’ve needed these new transmission links for years and the existing regulatory model hasn’t delivered.”
Dr Webster said Mr Andrews was “creating a system with so much political risk for private investors they simply won’t invest”.
“That spells trouble for customers and workers alike as prices soar and people fear for their jobs,” she said.
Under the plan, the government would hold a controlling interest in each project as renewables replace coal.
The promise also included an emissions reduction target of between 75 and 80 per cent by 2035, and would bring forward a net zero emissions target by five years to 2045.
Mr Andrews said the plan would bring power back into the hands of Victorians “by creating government-owned energy, keeping bills down and the lights on”.
“Big energy companies want to offshore profits – we want to offshore wind. Renewable energy is the future,” Mr Andrews said.
“It’s good for our climate, good for lower power bills and good for jobs.”
Dr Webster said the SEC would be completely reliant on renewable energy “but with no guarantee it can keep the lights on – all while charging the taxpayer for the privilege”.
