Tag Archives: electricity

Economics of second best in energy policy

Posted on July 12, 2018 by

Australia’s energy policy is such a confusing mess that the Australian’s economics editor Judith Sloan actually supports the ACCC’s dubious call (in its Electricity Pricing Inquiry Final Report) for the Australian Government to act as a buyer of last resort … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Qld Government wants electricity GOC dividends to do double duty

Posted on October 23, 2017 by

Yesterday’s media release from the Queensland Premier and Energy Minister on the $2 billion Affordable Energy Plan appears to have been prepared without Queensland Treasury input, as it is very loose in its discussion of the budget impact. The media … Continue reading →

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AGL Chief Economist to address ESA Qld on National Electricity Market

Posted on October 7, 2017 by

As you are no doubt aware, one of the big economic challenges facing Australia at the moment is the high cost of energy. An important aspect of the debate around the cost of energy is the future of the National … Continue reading →

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ACCC Chairman critical of market share of Qld State-owned power generators

Posted on July 26, 2017 by

Yesterday morning, in one of the best interviews of a public official I have ever heard, ACCC Chairman Rod Sims gave frank and informative replies to ABC Brisbane’s Steve Austin on the state of the electricity sector and the inquiry … Continue reading →

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

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

QCA finds multiple policy failures associated with billions in industry assistance in Qld

Posted on June 10, 2015 by

It appears that the QCA’s draft report on Industry Assistance in Queensland was released last Friday, a Friday before a long weekend, traditionally a good time to release reports that governments would rather be ignored and forgotten. But this report … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

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

Qld Treasurer rightly avoids committing to a fall in power prices

Posted on January 23, 2015 by

Queensland Treasurer Tim Nicholls performed well in his interview on 612 ABC Brisbane radio yesterday morning, rightly avoiding a commitment that power prices would fall as a result of privatisation, which he certainly couldn’t guarantee. In a question to the … Continue reading →

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Power prices would be lower than otherwise, but may not fall, under privatisation

Posted on January 22, 2015 by

I’m pleased to see some analysis finally published on the potential benefits of the privatisation of electricity businesses from a Queensland perspective: Network Pricing Trends in Queensland prepared by EY. The Courier-Mail has covered this report with the headline, on … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy, Queensland Government | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments