D26 Electricity Supply

AGL’s carbon loading

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sharri Markson
The Daily Telegraph – Page: 4 : 29-May-18

Data from the Clean Energy Regulator shows that AGL Energy generated 43.4 million tonnes of carbon emissions in 2016-17, which equates to about eight per cent of Australia’s emissions. Rival utility EnergyAustralia is the nation’s second-biggest carbon polluter, with emissions totalling 21.7 million tonnes in 2016-17. AGL is believed to be spending around $A23m a year on advertising to promote its environmental credentials, yet its emissions have increased by five million tonnes under current CEO Andy Vesey.

CORPORATES
AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. CLEAN ENERGY REGULATOR, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY

Alinta Energy turns up heat on AGL with $250m Liddell bid

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 1-May-18

Ian Myles of Macquarie Group says Alinta Energy’s offer to buy AGL Energy’s Liddell coal-fired power station is "opportunistic", while Mark Busuttil of JP Morgan adds that AGL would be unlikely to consider such a low offer. AGL itself has repeatedly stressed that Liddell is not for sale as the power station will be required until its scheduled closure in 2022, with the site to then be used to generate renewable energy. Alinta recently signalled its intention to make a formal offer to buy Liddell.

CORPORATES
AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ALINTA ENERGY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CHOW TAI FOOK ENTERPRISES LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, MANUFACTURING AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Snowy 2.0 ideal option, says CEO

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 2-Feb-18

Modelling conducted by Marsden Jacob Associates indicates that the Snowy 2.0 project will generate a return of eight per cent, according to Snowy Hydro CEO Paul Broad. The 2,000 megawatt pumped hydro project has been slated as costing up to $A4.5 billion. Broad also says MJA found that Snowy 2.0 was the "least cost" option in terms of providing secure and reliable electricity in the future, and that the federal government’s National Energy Guarantee only serves to strengthen the argument for the expansion of the Snowy hydro-electric scheme.

CORPORATES
SNOWY HYDRO LIMITED, MARSDEN JACOB ASSOCIATES PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD

Satisfaction with electricity providers declining

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

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

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey shows that customer satisfaction with electricity providers was 57.6% in the year to November 2017, compared with 61.8% in the previous 12 months. Red Energy (with a satisfaction rating of 68.2%) remains in top position among the largest providers, narrowly ahead of Lumo Energy (67.4%) and Simply Energy (65.6%). Both of the largest players showed a drop in satisfaction, with Origin down 7.9% points (to 57.6%) and AGL down 2.6% points (to 62.5%). The survey also shows that approximately 1.2 million households are considering switching electricity providers over the next 12 months, up from around one million in early 2017.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, RED ENERGY PTY LTD, LUMO ENERGY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SIMPLY ENERGY, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ERGON ENERGY CORPORATION LIMITED, AURORA ENERGY PTY LTD

Alinta’s plan to rattle AGL and Origin

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 23 : 16-Jan-18

Alinta believes that its purchase of Victoria’s Loy Yang B coal-fired power station for around $A1.2 billion can help it boost customer numbers. Alinta MD Jeff Dimery notes that it has around 800,000 to 900,000 customers at the moment, and that it is capable of coping with around two million customers. He says Alinta is still committed to expanding its renewable energy generation capacity, despite its purchase of Loy Yang B.

CORPORATES
ALINTA ENERGY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, ENGIE SA, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CHOW TAI FOOK ENTERPRISES LIMITED, ECOGEN ENERGY, IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD

SA users pay the most for electricity

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Owen
The Australian – Page: 7 : 30-Nov-17

South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill will commission what is the world’s biggest lithium-ion battery on 1 December. The 100-megawatt battery, which has been built by Tesla, forms part of Weatherill’s $A550 million energy plan, which he put in place following that state’s power problems in 2016. Meanwhile, recent claims by Weatherill that South Australia’s wholesale electricity prices are the lowest of any eastern state have been contradicted by data released by the ASX on 29 November.

CORPORATES
SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, TESLA INCORPORATED, 1414 DEGREES

Alinta wins race for $1.2b Loy Yang B

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 24-Nov-17

Alinta has outlaid around $A1.2 billion to acquire Victoria’s Loy Yang B power station from Engie and Mitsui & Co. Loy Yang B generates around 17 per cent of Victoria’s electricity needs, and has a capacity of around 1,000 megawatts. Alinta MD Jeff Dimery said buying Loy Yang B makes it easier for it to compete with "the big guys". Larger rivals AGL Energy, Origin Energy and EnergyAustralia all have coal-fired power stations.

CORPORATES
ALINTA ENERGY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, ENGIE SA, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DELTA ELECTRICITY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CHINA RESOURCES (HOLDINGS) LIMITED, APOLLO GLOBAL MANAGEMENT LLC, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, GRATTAN INSTITUTE

Musk’s SA big battery to begin testing

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by
The Australian – Page: Online : 24-Nov-17

South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill says Tesla has finished installing its 100-megawatt battery at Jamestown. The battery is located next to a wind farm, and Weatherill says that testing of the battery will now begin. He says that the battery, which is the biggest of its kind of the world, will be ready in time for the 2017-18 summer. The battery forms an important part of South Australia’s $A530 million energy plan, which it adopted following a statewide power blackout in 2016.

CORPORATES
TESLA INCORPORATED, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

NAB joins group bid to underwrite wind farm

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 23-Nov-17

The National Australia Bank, Australia Post and the City of Melbourne are among 14 entities that have entered into an electricity-purchase agreement with Pacific Hydro. The agreement, which will see the group acquire 88,000 megawatt hours of energy over the 10 years of the agreement, will underwrite Pacific Hydro’s construction of a wind farm near Ararat in Victoria. NAB chief customer officer Mike Baird says the agreement will help it to meet its goal of getting 50 per cent of its energy needs from renewable sources by 2025.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA POST, CITY OF MELBOURNE, CITY OF MORELAND, CITY OF PORT PHILLIP, CITY OF YARRA, ZOOS VICTORIA, BANK AUSTRALIA, FEDERATION SQUARE MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, RMIT UNIVERSITY, MELBOURNE CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION CENTRE, NEXTDC LIMITED – ASX NXT

AGL refuses to budge on Liddell

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith, Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 28-Sep-17

AGL Energy’ chairman Jerry Maycock has told the company’s AGM that selling the Liddell coal-fired power plant would be "challenging", while extending the ageing plant’s life would involve substantial costs. He also ruled out building a new coal-fired plant, arguing that such a plant may ultimately not be competitive as the cost of renewable energy and battery storage technology falls. Meanwhile, AGL CEO Andy Vesey is confident that partially replacing the Liddell plant’s output with renewables will not result in higher electricity prices. He also indicated that the Loy Yang A power station could be shut down ahead of schedule.

CORPORATES
AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, MARKET FORCES