D26 Electricity Supply

Quicker power as Origin upgrades

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 7-Jan-19

Origin Energy has upgraded its 224-megawatt Quarantine gas peaking plant in South Australia. As a result of the upgrade, which involved the fitting of an aero-derivative unit, it will now take Origin just five minutes to supply power to the national electricity grid, down from 15 minutes previously. Origin executive Greg Jarvis says the flexibility of its gas peaking power stations will help to support the growth in electricity being derived from renewable energy sources.

CORPORATES
ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, ENERGYQUEST PTY LTD, WOOD MACKENZIE

Electricity customer satisfaction continues to slide

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 29-Oct-18

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 60.9% of Australians were "very" or "fairly" satisfied with their electricity provider in the year to September 2018, compared with 61.7% in the year to September 2017. Simply Energy had the highest customer satisfaction rating, with 67% of customers saying they were "very" or "fairly" satisfied, followed by Red Energy (66%) and Alinta (63%). The three biggest providers, Energy Australia, AGL and Origin, had relatively low satisfaction levels of 60%, 60% and 59% respectively. The latest "Customer Satisfaction – Electricity Providers Report" is based on Roy Morgan’s Single Source survey, which includes in-depth personal interviews conducted face-to-face with over 50,000 Australians per annum in their own homes, including over 14,000 interviews with people who rated their satisfaction with their electricity connection.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, SIMPLY ENERGY, RED ENERGY PTY LTD, ALINTA ENERGY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG

AGL could face savage hit to earnings

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 25-Oct-18

Morgan Stanley estimates that the federal government’s proposed measures to reduce electricity prices could potentially slash the 2020 EBITDA of AGL Energy and Origin Energy by up to $361m and $426m respectively. Matthew Blumberg of Hayberry Global Fund adds that government intervention in the electricity sector could in fact result in reduced competition and enable the major players to increase their market share.

CORPORATES
MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, HAYBERRY GLOBAL FUND, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CLP HOLDINGS LIMITED, CITIGROUP INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY REGULATOR

AGL defies Coalition over Liddell closure

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith, Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 27-Sep-18

AGL Energy’s interim CEO Brett Redman has reaffirmed its commitment to exiting coal-fired power generation and its proposed closure of the Liddell power station in 2022. However, Redman has told the company’s AGM that AGL will seek to work with the federal government to reduce electricity prices. Relations between AGL and the government became strained under former CEO Andy Vesey over the closure of Liddell, prompting Energy Minister Angus Taylor to warn of potential intervention if electricity retailers do not take action to reduce prices.

CORPORATES
AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, ENVIRONMENT VICTORIA

Palmer shares his big coal dream

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 12-Sep-18

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says the state does not need another coal-fired power station. She was commenting on the announcement by businessman Clive Palmer that he intends to build a $1.5 billion low-emissions coal-fired power station in the Galilee Basin. The proposed station would be located on Palmer’s Waratah Coal tenements, and would be the first coal-fired power stations built in decades if Palmer’s plans come to fruition.

CORPORATES
WARATAH COAL PTY LTD, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, ADANI MINING PTY LTD, GVK POWER AND INFRASTRUCTURE LIMITED, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD

Vesey to stay put as AGL profit surges

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 10-Aug-18

AGL Energy has posted a 2017-18 net profit of $1.59bn, compared with $539m previously. The electricity generator and retailer’s underlying profit rose by 28 per cent to $1.02bn. AGL has reported revenue of $12.8bn, a modest increase from the previous fiscal year, while shareholders will receive a partially franked final dividend of $0.63 per share. CEO Andy Vesey has refuted suggestions that he may step down, stressing that he will remain at the helm while AGL implements its three-year strategy.

CORPORATES
AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, ALINTA ENERGY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Satisfaction with electricity providers declining

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 23-Jul-18

New results from Roy Morgan show that customer satisfaction with electricity providers in Australia was only 56.6% in the 12 months to May 2018, down from 60.4% in the year to May 2017. Roy Morgan’s Net Promoter Score for electricity providers is now at minus 47.6. These low satisfaction and NPS levels show why 2.1 million customers are considering switching over the next 12 months. Red Energy has the highest satisfaction rating among the largest providers, at 70.0%, narrowly ahead of Simply Energy (65.0%) and Energy Australia (64.4%). Meanwhile, 43.7% of customers who are "very dissatisfied" with their electricity provider say that they are either "very likely" or "fairly likely" to switch companies in the next 12 months, while 36.0% of those who are "fairly dissatisfied" say they are likely to switch in the next 12 months. Roy Morgan’s "Customer Satisfaction – Electricity Providers Report" is based on in-depth personal interviews conducted face-to-face with over 50,000 Australians per annum in their own homes, including over 14,000 interviews with people who rated their satisfaction with their electricity connection.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, RED ENERGY PTY LTD, SIMPLY ENERGY, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD

ACCC’s electricity reform could crush smaller retailers

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Original article by Cole Latimer
The Age – Page: 18 : 13-Jul-18

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s recommendations arising from its review into the retail electricity sector include the adoption of a "basic price offer" and changes to electricity discounting. Both recommendations are expected to impact most on smaller electricity retailers, and could force them to merge with larger rivals. Tony Wood of the Grattan Institute notes that the current level of competition has not necessarily benefited consumers, so they may not be worse off if there are fewer electricity retailers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, GRATTAN INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY REGULATOR, MACQUARIE WEALTH MANAGEMENT

ACCC: Click misled consumers

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 10-Jul-18

Electricity and gas retailer Click Energy will dispute allegations of false and misleading conduct. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission will allege in court that Click Energy’s offer of a 7-29 per cent discount for paying electricity bills on time applied only to its market offer rates, rather than its standard offer rates. ACCC chairman Rod Sims says the discounts were much lower than advertised when compared with Click Energy’s standing offer rates.

CORPORATES
CLICK ENERGY PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AMAYSIM AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX AYS, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Renewables generate 19pc of grid already

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Original article by Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 6-Jul-18

Renewable energy was responsible for just under 19 per cent of National Electricity Market generation in the year to June 2018, according to the Australia Institute. The figure includes rooftop solar generation, or 15.7 per cent if rooftop solar generation is not included. The Australia Institute claims that new solar and wind generation that is being built or committed to under the federal government’s Renewable Energy Target and the Victorian government’s RET would be sufficient for the former to meet its 2030 emissions target without the need for a National Energy Guarantee.

CORPORATES
THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED, REPUTEX AUSTRALIA PACIFIC PTY LTD, GREEN ENERGY MARKETS PTY LTD