January 11, 2013
The Electrical Trades Union is calling for a federal inquiry into claims that energy retailers in Queensland are paying as much as $12,000 per megawatt/hour for electricity – more than 200 times the long term average cost of $50/MWh.
The union says it raises serious concerns about State Government decisions to mothball State-owned generation capacity.
Two power generating units at Tarong Power Station were mothballed in October last year.
ETU State Secretary Peter Simpson said the issue could only be addressed through a Federal Inquiry into the ownership links between privately owned “peaking” power stations and the State Government
“We have the situation where a government decision to remove 750MW of generating capacity from the baseload supply has handed the private sector gas-fired peaking stations a licence to print money, knowing that when temperatures rise they will be required,” he said.
“What we want to know is who owns these peaking stations that are holding Queenslanders to ransom and what connections – direct or indirect – do they have with the State Government whose decisions have benefitted them so much?
“We have written to the Federal Government seeking they initiate a Federal Inquiry as a matter of urgency.
“Queenslanders deserve to have confidence in their politicians to make decisions in the public interest, not in the interest of private sector benefactors.”
- External Link: Electricity generation from gas (Qld State Government)
