ENERGY POLICY – AUSTRALIA

No targets, Taylor warns states

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 8 : 12-Oct-18

Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor says Australia is on track to achieve a 26 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030. He says a priority now is to stabilise the national electricity grid, and with this in mind he intends to push for the states and territories to support a "reliability obligation" at the upcoming Council of Australian Governments’ meeting. Taylor also said the states should not press for the adoption of an emissions target at the meeting, arguing that it would only be necessary if Australia sought to reduce emissions by more than 26 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD

Business to go it alone on climate

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: W1 & W2 : 11-Oct-18

The Business Council of Australia’s energy and climate change committee has considered a proposal for energy companies and heavy industry to pursue carbon reduction measures independently of the federal government. The companies that comprise the committee were largely supportive of the national energy guarantee. However, the government’s focus under Prime Minister Scott Morrison has shifted from cutting carbon emissions to ensuring a reliable energy supply and reducing electricity prices.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE

Taylor forces NEG security onto states

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith, Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 10-Oct-18

Power retailers will be required to guarantee a reliable electricity supply under a new proposal by the federal government. The proposal for a reliability mechanism – which was a key element of the national energy guarantee – will be put to the upcoming meeting of the COAG Energy Council. The reliability mechanism is one of the initiatives of Energy Minister Angus Taylor which are aimed at reducing electricity prices while ensuring a reliable energy supply as the proportion of electricity generated by renewables increases.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS. ENERGY COUNCIL, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, HYDRO TASMANIA, ERM POWER LIMITED – ASX EPW, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD, INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF ENERGY AND WATER SUPPLY, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND, WATER AND PLANNING

Scott Morrison: No issue with nuclear power but it doesn’t stack up

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Original article by Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 9-Oct-18

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has questioned the merits of nuclear power from an investment perspective. While Morrison says he does not have any issues with nuclear energy, he argues that there is a stronger investment case for Hydro Tasmania’s proposed pumped hydro project. Several nuclear power projects in the US and the UK have been marred by cost blowouts, while a recent report by Deloitte noted that the all-in cost of nuclear power has risen over the last eight years. In contrast, there has been a sharp fall in the cost of solar and wind power.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, SOUTHERN COMPANY, EDF ENERGY PLC, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST

IPCC coal call not for us: PM

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Original article by Graham Lloyd
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 9-Oct-18

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has concluded that coal-fired power generation would need to be almost completely phased out worldwide by 2050 if global warming is to be limited to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. The IPCC’s special report argues that meeting this target would require global net human carbon ­dioxide emissions to be reduced to zero by 2050. However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Australia is not bound by any of the report’s conclusions, while Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says removing coal from the nation’s energy mix would result in power blackouts on the east coast.

CORPORATES
INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, GLOBAL CARBON PROJECT, CSIRO, GLOBAL CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE INSTITUTE LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATION FOUNDATION INCORPORATED

Taylor-made package to prolong coal power

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Original article by Samantha Hutchinson
The Australian – Page: 5 : 20-Sep-18

Sources have indicated that the federal government’s new energy policy may include assistance for companies to upgrade existing coal-fired power stations. Energy Minister Angus Taylor has stressed that ensuring the reliability of Australia’s baseload power supply is the government’s key priority. This could potentially include measures aimed at extending the operating lives of existing coal-fired plants or investing in new ones.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL

ALP states to support Shorten if NEG revived

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 5 : 19-Sep-18

Queensland’s Energy Minister Anthony Lynham and Victorian counterpart Lily D’Ambrosio have indicated that they would back the national energy guarantee if Labor wins the next federal election. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten recently signalled that a Labor government would be open to adopting some aspects of the Coalition’s NEG. Lynham has also criticised the federal government’s lack of action regarding energy policy following its decision to abandon the NEG under new Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF ENERGY AND WATER SUPPLY, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND, WATER AND PLANNING, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS

Previously NEGative, Shorten attacked for reviving dead policy

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 4 : 17-Sep-18

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has criticised Opposition Leader Bill Shorten for signalling that Labor could potentially implement a policy that is similar to the national ­energy guarantee if it wins the next federal election. Frydenberg says Shorten is merely playing politics with regard to energy policy and is not concerned about reducing electricity prices. The NEG included a carbon emissions reduction target of just 26 per cent, compared with Labor’s proposed target of 45 per cent. Liberal MP Trent Zimmerman says the Labor target is "ridiculous" and would destroy the economy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Frydenberg mourns death of NEG

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 10-Sep-18

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will ask Cabinet on 10 September to dump the emissions reduction targets contained in the now defunct National Energy Guarantee. Josh Frydenberg says he is disappointed by the NEG’s scrapping, but he denies suggestions it was the cause of Malcolm Turnbull’s demise as Prime Minister. Business groups want the "reliability component" of the NEG to be included in any future energy policy, while Labor climate spokesman Mark Butler accused Morrison of giving in to the Liberal Party’s conservative wing.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, ORORA LIMITED – ASX ORA

Power price fix will leave customers worse off

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 5-Sep-18

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission recommended in July that a default retail power price be introduced. Its proposal, which would see the adoption of a retail price that would be capped by the Australian Energy Regulator, was recently endorsed by the federal government. However, EnergyAustralia CEO Catherine Tanna is understood to have told New South Wales Energy Minister Don Harwin that 70 per cent of its customers would be worse off if the ACCC’s recommendation was adopted.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY REGULATOR, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF ENERGY, CLP HOLDINGS LIMITED, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL