June 6, 2013
The Electrical Trades Union is wrong to say that increases in household electricity bills were partly due to two generation units at Tarong Power Station being put into cold storage late last year, a Stanwell spokesman said today.
Referring to a southburnett.com.au report published on May 31, Stanwell spokesman Jay Merritt said the union did not help the South Burnett community to understand either electricity price rises or the cold storage decision when it linked the two events in that way.
He said the ETU State Secretary’s claim that the price of electricity had gone up because a shortage of generation was incorrect.
“As we approach the cooler months, Queensland currently has almost double the supply of electricity that we need,” Mr Merritt said.
“This has lead to the lowest wholesale electricity prices for power stations in 10 years and our decision to place two Tarong units in to cold storage.
“This was a very difficult decision for Stanwell to make and, out of respect for the South Burnett community where our Tarong employees live, we took a great deal of time to explain the reasons for the cold storage decision.
“It does not help when this ETU red herring sets about muddying the waters.”
Mr Merritt said increases in household power bills were not due to power stations.
“Power stations get about 17 cents in every $1 of a customer’s power bill and this figure is lower now than 10 years ago despite a significant rise over the same period in our costs,” he said.
“The price that we get when electricity leaves the power station is like the price that dairy farmers get as milk leaves the farm gate.
“It is only a very small part of the price of the final product and, like dairy farmers, power stations are struggling to make a profit.”
Mr Merritt said historically high expenditure on the poles and wires which deliver electricity to homes and businesses was responsible for half the cost of a household energy bill.
Government renewable energy schemes, including the former State Government’s Solar Bonus Scheme, and the Federal Government’s carbon tax are also inflating the price of power, he said.
He said the increase in the retail price of electricity has nothing to do with Stanwell putting two generation units into cold storage.
- Related article: Mothballed Units Blamed For Power Hike
