{"id":25453,"date":"2013-03-04T11:25:21","date_gmt":"2013-03-04T01:25:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=25453"},"modified":"2020-09-25T10:12:47","modified_gmt":"2020-09-25T00:12:47","slug":"asset-sales-hypothetical-mp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2013\/03\/04\/asset-sales-hypothetical-mp\/","title":{"rendered":"Asset Sales ‘Hypothetical’: MP"},"content":{"rendered":"

March 4, 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

The State Government has accused unions of impeding reforms that would lower electricity prices to consumers and urged them to stop campaigning against “hypothetical” asset sales.<\/p>\n

Queensland Energy Minister Mark McArdle said the pace of reform in the industry needed to increase.<\/p>\n

Mr McArdle said “over-building” of the network and “work practices that impede management” were to blame.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of protesting and running campaigns against hypothetical asset-sales policies, unions would be better off ensuring the public could see the value of the electricity businesses and working to keeping prices down,\u201d Mr McArdle said.<\/p>\n

\u201cReducing costs and increasing the returns from Government-owned electricity assets is the best way of keeping prices down and demonstrating value from these businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

On February 22 the Queensland Consumer Authority (QCA) recommended that electricity prices rise by as much as 23 per cent for single-person households and 19 per cent for six-person households from July. <\/p>\n

If approved, a typical customer’s annual electricity bill would rise from $1,184 to $1,437.<\/p>\n

The State Government is currently considering the QCA’s report.<\/p>\n

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