POWER INDUSTRY – AUSTRALIA

Energy markets tipped to return to normal as NSW granted emergency powers to secure coal supplies

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Original article by Peter Hannam, Benita Kolovos
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 17-Jun-22

Former Energy Security Board chair Kerry Schott has backed the Australian Energy Market Operator’s unprecedented decision to temporarily suspend wholesale electricity trading. Schott believes that the suspension will remain in place for no more than a week, given that coal-fired generation units in several states are coming back online and the cold weather on the east coast is easing. The AEMO has advised that its forecast for reserve supply conditions had improved across all national energy market regions; however, the AEMO cautions that it is too soon to determine when the market will resume normal operations.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, ENERGY SECURITY BOARD

AGL in crisis as split founders

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith, Anthony Macdonald
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 15 : 30-May-22

AGL Energy’s board is expected to issue a formal statement on its proposed demerger before the market opens on Monday. There is growing speculation that AGL is set to abandon the demerger and will consider alternative options, amid pressure from major shareholder Mike Cannon-Brookes. The future of CEO Graeme Hunt and chairman Peter Botten is also uncertain, and they were both said to be considering their positions on Sunday. Cannon-Brookes’ private company Grok Ventures intends to seek two seats on AGL’s board if the demerger does not proceed.

CORPORATES
AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, GROK VENTURES

Cannon-Brookes bid doesn’t add up, says AGL chief

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 16 : 23-Feb-22

AGL Energy’s CEO Graeme Hunt says a $5bn takeover offer "extremely undervalues" the electricity generator and retailer. He says Brookfield Asset Management and Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes are seeking to buy AGL at a "ridiculously low premium". Hunt has also questioned the bidders’ proposal to fast-track the closure of AGL’s coal-fired power stations, and their claims that this would have no appreciable impact on electricity prices. Meanwhile, former Energy Security Board chair Kerry Schott contends that there would be insufficient grounds for the federal government to intervene and block the deal.

CORPORATES
AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, BROOKFIELD ASSET MANAGEMENT INCORPORATED, ATLASSIAN CORPORATION PLC, ENERGY SECURITY BOARD

Lessons to learn from UK’s electricity failures

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Original article by Robert Gottliebsen
The Australian – Page: 20 : 6-Oct-21

Electricity retailing has traditionally been a stable business, with good long-term returns. However, it is rapidly becoming a low-margin and high-risk industry in Australia and abroad. The recent collapse of nine smaller power distribution companies in the UK has implications for Australia. A sharp rise in the price of gas triggered the collapse of these companies, but the underlying problem of electricity retailers in both the UK and Australia is the use of forward hedge contracts with major power generators, which can leave smaller retailers extremely vulnerable in the event of a price shock.

CORPORATES

Spark’s $5.2b takeover tactics are well received

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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

AGL Energy savaged after demerger given green light

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 1-Jul-21

AGL Energy has incurred the biggest one-day fall in its share price since 2007 after revealing details of its proposed restructuring and demerger. AGL will be rebranded as Accel Energy and retain its coal-fired power plants, while the group’s gas and electricity retailing business will be spun off into a listed company to be called AGL Australia. Acting CEO Graeme Hunt believes that AGL’s shares were sold down in response to changes to its dividend policy and revised earnings guidance, rather than the demerger proposal. Hunt will become CEO of Accel, while chief customer officer Christine Corbett will be CEO of the new AGL. The demerger is subject to shareholder approval.

CORPORATES
AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL

Price of electricity the lowest since 2012

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 7 : 28-Apr-21

Data from the Australian Energy Market Operator shows that wholesale electricity prices fell to the lowest level since 2012 during the first three months of 2021. The wholesale price in New South Wales averaged $38 per megawatt hour, compared with $86MWh for the March 2020 quarter; the wholesale price in Victoria averaged $25MWh, down from $79MWh previously. Demand for electricity fell during the quarter due to factors such as the increase in solar power generation and the lowest average temperatures for the period since 2012.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED

Coalition rebuffed over need for coal-fired power stations

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 4 : 12-Apr-21

A report from the Grattan Institute has concluded that gas will play a key as Australia transitions to a net-zero emissions electricity grid. The report also cautions against shifting to complete reliance on renewables; it contends that the electricity grid can shift to 70-90 per cent renewables in the 2040s with no major impact on the affordability or reliability of the electricity system. Grattan Institute director Tony Wood adds that there is no need to build new coal-fired power stations or to refurbish existing ones to extend their operational life.

CORPORATES
GRATTAN INSTITUTE

Extra power locked in for summer

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 27-Nov-20

The Australian Energy Market Operator has released its ‘summer readiness’ plan for the power market. AEMO has contracted over 1,900 megawatts of extra emergency power generating capacity for the 2020-21 summer peak, although heatwave and bushfire conditions are not expected to be as severe as in 2019-20. AEMO COO Michael Gatt notes that heatwaves and bushfires remain a "prominent risk", while predicted El Nino weather patterns means there is an increased risk of tropical cyclones and flooding.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED

AGL buys Amaysim energy unit

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian – Page: 18 : 1-Sep-20

AGL Energy’s customer base will increase by 215,000 to 4.2 million following a deal to buy Click Energy from listed telco Amaysim. The $115m deal will be financed via AGL’s existing debt facilities. Amaysim CEO Peter O’Connell says trading conditions in the electricity sector are challenging at present, with a further increase in bad debts likely. Meanwhile, Amaysim has posted a 2019-20 underlying profit of $600,000; this follows a $7.1m loss previously.

CORPORATES
AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, AMAYSIM AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX AYS, CLICK ENERGY