ELECTRIC POWER DISTRIBUTION – AUSTRALIA

Australian electricity networks raked in $2bn in superprofits from customers, thinktank says

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Peter Hannam
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 22-Nov-23

The Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis has released a report that highlights the massive earnings of Australia’s electricity distribution network operators. It estimates that in addition to "normal" profits of about $16bn since 2014, electricity distributors have generated some $11.1bn worth of "superprofits" over this period – including $2bn in 2022-23. The excess profits equate to between $80 and $400 for each customer, depending on the area they service. The report’s author Simon Orme says the excess profits of the ‘poles and wires’ companies are reducing energy affordability and adding to economy-wide inflation.

CORPORATES
INSTITUTE FOR ENERGY ECONOMICS AND FINANCIAL ANALYSIS

AusNet chief confident grid will be ready for coal’s exit

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nick Toscano
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 17-Jul-23

AusNet chief development officer Jon D’Sylva says the power grid operator is optimistic that Australia can manage the transition from coal-fired power to renewable energy sources, although he concedes that there is a bit of pressure regarding the federal government’s target of 82 per cent of Australia’s power being ‘green’ by 2030. AusNet is the company behind the Western Renewables Link, which has met with a lot of opposition from local communities, and D’Sylva acknowledges that it failed to ensure an adequate level of community engagement when the project was conceived.

CORPORATES
AUSNET SERVICES LIMITED

Grid precarious as winter looms: EnergyAustralia

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Colin Packham
The Australian – Page: 15 & 18 : 6-Jun-23

EnergyAustralia MD Mark Collette has told a climate business summit in Sydney that there is currently less dispatchable capacity in Australia’s power system than in 2022, following the closure of the Liddell coal-fired power plant at the end of April. He says there should be better preparation for when coal-fired power stations are closed, in that there should be enough replacement capacity. Collette is the latest executive to express concern about the ability of the nation’s electricity network to manage the increased demand during winter and summer amid the transition to renewable energy sources.

CORPORATES
ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Spark’s $5.2b takeover tactics are well received

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Elouise Fowler
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 & 18 : 24-Aug-21

Shares in Spark Infrastructure rose by two per cent on 23 August after it was revealed its board had agreed to a $5.2 billion takeover offer from a consortium led by private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and the Ontario teachers’ pension fund. Dougal Maple-Brown from Maple-Brown Abbott, which owns a stake in Spark, said that the Spark board had done a good job in getting the consortium to increase its original offer, while the transaction will be undertaken by means of a scheme of arrangement

CORPORATES
SPARK INFRASTRUCTURE GROUP – ASX SKI, KOHLBERG KRAVIS ROBERTS AND COMPANY, ONTARIO TEACHERS’ PENSION PLAN, MAPLE-BROWN ABBOTT LIMITED

Power stability critical

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 24-Feb-20

The Energy Security Board’s latest annual report card has stated that electricity affordability improved from ‘critical’ in 2018 to ‘moderate-critical’ in 2019. This was due to a combination of falling costs and government pressure on retailers. The ESB noted that power generation from wind and solar is tipped to grow from 16 per cent of supply in 2019 to more than 40 per cent by 2030. However, it warned that the growth of wind and solar poses a threat to the stability of the national grid, with greater intervention needed.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD

Destroyed lines could cause days of blackouts

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 3-Jan-20

January 4 is looming as a concerning day for power supplies in New South Wales and Victoria, due to the combination of forecast high temperatures and ongoing bushfires. Power outages in those areas impacted by bushfires could last for another week, with many electricity lines destroyed by the fires inaccessible to repair crews. Snowy Hydro CEO Paul Broad says the Australian Energy Market Operator has been in close contact with generation and transmission companies to ensure everything possible has been done to ensure power remains available on 4 January.

CORPORATES
SNOWY HYDRO LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED

EV rollout threat to power grid

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 4 : 5-Apr-19

Energy Networks Australia has used a submission to a Senate inquiry to warn that the nation’s electricity grid may not be equipped to cope with the growing use of electric vehicles. The peak energy network body argued that incentives will be necessary to encourage consumers to recharge their electric cars during off-peak periods. Labor recently announced that it will require electric vehicles to account for 50 per cent of new car sales by 2030 if it wins the upcoming federal election.

CORPORATES
ENERGY NETWORKS AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERSHIPS AUSTRALIA, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Households may have to pay more to ease power crunches

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ben Potter, Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 29-Jan-19

The Grattan Institute’s energy program director Tony Wood has cautioned against an overreaction to the recent rolling power blackouts that impacted South Australia and Victoria. Charging consumers more to use air conditioners during extreme heat has been put forward as one solution to the problem of matching demand with supply during such weather conditions, as has simplifying the regulatory test for new transmission links.

CORPORATES
GRATTAN INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, TRANSGRID, SPARK INFRASTRUCTURE GROUP – ASX SKI, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SCHNEIDER AUSTRALIA

Heat stress: power crisis hits home

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Perry Williams, Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 1 & 5 : 25-Jan-19

The Australian Energy Market Operator asked power users in Victoria and South Australia to cut their electricity usage on 24 January as the electricity grid struggled to cope with soaring temperatures. Households were urged not to use appliances such as washing machines during peak periods, while Alcoa was asked to cut production at its aluminium smelter in Victoria for around two hours in the evening. Around 20,000 households in Adelaide were hit by blackouts, although no blackouts are expected on 25 January, with a cool change due for both states.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, ALCOA OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Network CEOs strike back on power prices

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 7-Nov-18

Energy Minister Angus Taylor will meet with the CEOs of power retailers on 7 November, where he will give them until 1 January to begin reducing electricity prices. Meanwhile, the CEOs of electricity network operators argue that regulated network costs have been cut significantly. TransGrid CEO Paul Italiano says its costs now comprise only 3.4 per cent of the average household electricity bill in New South Wales. Electricity retailers in turn argue that network charges, renewable energy subsidies and wholesale tariffs are the major contributors to high electricity bills.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, TRANSGRID, AUSGRID PTY LTD, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ENDEAVOUR ENERGY LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION