A roadmap to cheaper electricity?

Or a highway to energy hell?

The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) has published its contribution determination for the Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap that will see an average household save $130 on their energy bills, according to the Perrottet Government. But is Treasurer Matt Kean really being upfront with the people of NSW or will energy prices increase not decrease?

3 March 2023

ALAN HAYES

 

THE Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap (the Roadmap) is the NSW Government’s plan to transform our electricity sector into one that is cheap, clean, and reliable. It sets out a coordinated way forward to achieving a capacity target of at least 12 gigawatts of renewable energy generation, and two gigawatts of long-duration storage by 2030.

 

Energy Minister Matt Kean said the Roadmap, including these costs, delivers an outcome that is $130 less than if the Roadmap wasn’t in place.

 

“The NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap remains critical to replacing aging power stations as they retire with secure, affordable, reliable and sustainable energy,” Mr Kean said.

 

“The Roadmap will deliver value for money by introducing more low cost renewables and storage into the grid and putting downward pressure on electricity bills.

 

“Overall, the Roadmap, including these costs, will see typical household bills $130 less a year than if the Roadmap wasn’t in place.”

 

Yet, despite Treasurer Kean’s reassurance, last Friday (24 February) the AER made a determination requiring energy distributors to charge consumers to cover the costs of the NSW Government’s Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap.

 

It was in December that the Energy Minister claimed he would get “big energy companies to pay” for this transition, not the consumer.

 

Under the Roadmap, the AER is required to determine how much energy consumers have to pay each year to cover the cost of the government’s energy policies.

 

In 2020, Energy Minister Matt Kean promised that his Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap would save households $130 a year and businesses $430 a year.

 

Instead, prices have already risen 26 per cent in just the last six months – and are projected to increase by another 30 per cent in the next year.

 

This latest impost will add a further $37 to the average annual household energy bill in NSW, which are already surging under the Perrottet Government.

 

Not surprisingly, as electricity prices in NSW continue to rise Matt Kean’s Roadmap to cheaper and cleaner energy is failing, with NSW trailing abysmally behind Tasmania and South Australia. Tasmania had Australia's highest renewable energy penetration in 2021, at 99.9 percent. Accordingly, Tasmania was the first Australian state to achieve 100 percent renewable energy consumption in 2020 and South Australia was the second-highest user of renewables after Tasmania .

 

Jihad Dib, NSW Shadow Minister for Energy & Climate Change said “We are in a cost of living crisis compounded by an energy crisis. Not only is Matt Kean making it worse, he doesn’t want you to know about it.

 

“For Matt Kean to spruik cost of living relief whilst hiking energy bills is the ultimate act of hypocrisy.

 

“If NSW consumers have to foot the bill for the government’s energy policies, Matt Kean should be upfront about how much each family and business stands to pay.”

 

Matt Kean should come clean and be upfront with the people of NSW about who will be paying his secret $138.14 million tax to finance his energy plan - NSW families, households and businesses will be the ones who will have to pay.

 

And in spite of Matt Kean's rhetoric, NSW's coal-state past is scuppering its renewable energy future and consumers hoping for cheaper electricity prices are still facing an energy highway to hell.