ENERGY POLICY – AUSTRALIA

Cut power bills by new year or else

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 24-Oct-18

The Business Council of Australia has warned that some of the federal government’s proposed measures to put downward pressure on electricity prices could create investment uncertainty. Amongst other things, energy retailers will be required to offer default price contracts from mid-2019, while energy companies could be forced to divest assets if they fail to take sufficient action. The government also proposes to underwrite investment in new reliable energy sources. Prime Minister Scott Morrison says reducing electricity prices and cutting carbon emissions are not mutually exclusive.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY COUNCIL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND, WATER AND PLANNING, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY REGULATOR, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Morrison in bid for unity on energy

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Original article by Joe Kelly, Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 23-Oct-18

The federal government will establish a price benchmark for electricity retailers, which was a key recommendation of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s review of electricity prices. The "default market offer" rate will take effect from mid-2019, and is part of the government’s commitment to reducing power bills. Meanwhile, National Party MP Keith Pitt rejects suggestions that the Coalition’s climate change policy was the main cause of its poor performance in the Wentworth by-election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY REGULATOR, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE

Barnaby’s coal plan powers up detractors

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Original article by Ean Higgins
The Australian – Page: 5 : 16-Oct-18

National Party MP Keith Pitt has questioned the viability of the federal government’s Snowy Hydro expansion plan. He argues that investing in coal-fired power stations may be a better option if Snowy 2.0’s cost per megawatt hour is very high. The issue of energy policy has come under renewed scrutiny after former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce advocated coal-fired power in preference to Snowy 2.0. However, the University of Queensland’s Professor Tor Hundloe says pumped hydro is much more cost-effective than coal-fired power generation.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND

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