Category Archives: Energy

Qld Solar Bonus Scheme shows how bad government policy can cost taxpayers for a long time

Posted on June 1, 2017 by

The Queensland Government yesterday directed its electricity network business Energy Queensland to remove the cost of the Solar Bonus Scheme from its charges until 2020, which will reduce Energy Queensland’s earnings and hence adversely impact the State Budget (see the … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Zombie electricity utilities – upcoming presentation by Professor Manuel Pinho to ESA Qld

Posted on February 26, 2017 by

The latest issue of The Economist features an excellent article (Wind and solar power are disrupting electricity systems) describing the challenges of integrating renewable energy into electricity systems. It is a timely article, given there is an extensive debate in … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Judith Sloan right to criticise over-reliance on renewable energy

Posted on July 19, 2016 by

Judith Sloan, Contributing Economics Editor to the Australian, has a brilliant op-ed in the paper today (see Energy price reveals folly of renewables) criticising policies targeting renewable energy, following the wholesale electricity price spike that occurred in South Australia last … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Long-run benefits of privatisation are undeniable

Posted on April 17, 2016 by

Last Friday, in an opinion piece in the Courier-Mail (see image above) that was consistent with its current “Go Queensland” campaign, I re-entered the debate on privatisation: Privatisation, legalising Uber and deregulating trading hours are first steps towards boosting the … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Infrastructure, Productivity, Queensland Government, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Qld Renewable Energy Taskforce asked to achieve impossible 50% target

Posted on January 28, 2016 by

Queensland’s Energy Minister Mark Bailey yesterday announced in a media release that “A formidable team of business, energy, and environmental experts will lead the public inquiry into establishing Queensland’s 50% renewable energy target by 2030.” Being led by a former … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Energy GOCs equity raid a good example of problem with public ownership

Posted on October 8, 2015 by

I was quoted in the Courier-Mail this morning regarding the $3.5 billion the Queensland Government has withdrawn from equity in its power businesses (see chart above) for the purposes of paying down debt (see Earnings grab quick debt fix, Pitt … Continue reading →

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Privatised electricity businesses would better achieve necessary efficiencies

Posted on May 4, 2015 by

It’s been clear for some time that the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) would make large cuts to future allowable revenues for Energex and Ergon, and that this would potentially impact Queensland Government dividend income. The preliminary determinations from the AER … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Energy | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments