{"id":35578,"date":"2013-06-06T16:38:07","date_gmt":"2013-06-06T06:38:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=35578"},"modified":"2020-12-18T11:54:22","modified_gmt":"2020-12-18T01:54:22","slug":"rising-bills-not-due-to-power-stations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2013\/06\/06\/rising-bills-not-due-to-power-stations\/","title":{"rendered":"Rising Bills ‘Not Due To Power Stations’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Tarong<\/a>
The Tarong Power Stations … not to blame for rising electricity prices, says Stanwell (Photo: Stanwell)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

June 6, 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Referring to a southburnett.com.au<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

He said the ETU State Secretary\u2019s claim that the price of electricity had gone up because a shortage of generation was incorrect.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we approach the cooler months, Queensland currently has almost double the supply of electricity that we need,\u201d Mr Merritt said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt does not help when this ETU red herring sets about muddying the waters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Merritt said increases in household power bills were not due to power stations.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cPower stations get about 17 cents in every $1 of a customer\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe price that we get when electricity leaves the power station is like the price that dairy farmers get as milk leaves the farm gate.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt 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.”<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Government renewable energy schemes, including the former State Government\u2019s Solar Bonus Scheme, and the Federal Government\u2019s carbon tax are also inflating the price of power, he said.<\/p>\n

He said the increase in the retail price of electricity has nothing to do with Stanwell putting two generation units into cold storage.<\/p>\n