POWER INDUSTRY – AUSTRALIA

Power chaos looms amid union row

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Original article by Samantha Hutchinson, Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 5-May-17

The Victorian Government has intervened in the long-running dispute over enterprise agreement negotiations at AGL Energy’s Loy Yang power station. The Government will seek an order from the Fair Work Commission to prevent the Electrical Trades Union from launching industrial action. AGL had warned that safety considerations would force it to shut down the power station from mid-May if workers went on strike. Loy Yang supplies more than 40 per cent of the state’s electricity.

CORPORATES
AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ELECTRICAL TRADES UNION, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Shorten’s power policy switches

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 7-Nov-16

Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg says the Australian Labor Party has changed its stance on energy policy more than 10 times over the last decade. He has criticised the Opposition for adopting a policy of sourcing 50 per cent of Australia’s energy supply from renewable sources by 2030 when it had provided owners of coal-fired power stations with millions of dollars worth of taxpayers’ funds when it was in government. Labor had also given some $A268m worth of free carbon permits to the owners of the Hazelwood power station in Victoria.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ENGIE SA, FRONTIER ECONOMICS PTY LTD, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Global energy expert flags nation’s grid, gas supply as keys to review

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 3-Nov-16

The International Energy Agency has agreed to provide its opinion on Australia’s power generation policy to the Finkel review of energy security. Fatih Birol, the head of the agency, said many countries have problems with intermittent supply of power from renewable sources but none of them experienced an event on the scale of the state-wide blackout which occurred in South Australia in September 2016.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS

Power bill shock as RET helps big firms

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Original article by Kylar Loussikian, Sid Maher
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 1-Nov-16

Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox warns that a sharp rise in the spot price of large-scale generation certificates could result in a 1-2 per cent increase in electricity bills for households and businesses. He attributes the rise in the spot price to concern that growth in renewable energy supply will not be sufficient to meet the Federal Government’s Renewable Energy Target. This requires the proportion of electricity generated by renewables to rise from 12.75 per cent at present to 23.5 per cent by 2020. Some states have more aggressive renewable energy targets.

CORPORATES
THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF SCIENTIST, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, GREEN ENERGY MARKETS PTY LTD, GRATTAN INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIA. CLEAN ENERGY REGULATOR, CLEAN ENERGY COUNCIL LIMITED

Stop point scoring and plan, says industry

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Original article by Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 4-Oct-16

Bruce Mountain of Carbon Market Economics rejects suggestions that the state-wide power outage in South Australia could have been avoided if its coal-fired power plant had not been decommissioned. Meanwhile, Energy Users Association of Australia chairman Brian Morris has urged both sides of federal politics to co-operate in developing a national energy policy. A similar view has been expressed by Tony Wood of the Grattan Institute.

CORPORATES
CARBON MARKET ECONOMICS PTY LTD, ENERGY USERS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA, GRATTAN INSTITUTE, SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI

Hazelwood closure set to push up prices

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 26-Sep-16

France-based Engie could make a final decision on the mooted closure of Victoria’s Hazelwood coal-fired power station in October 2016. Some media reports have suggested that the power plant could be shut down in April 2017, but Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio says no decision has been made. Tony Wood of the Grattan Institute says the brown coal plant’s closure would result in higher electricity prices, while Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg has questioned the need for states to have their own renewable energy targets.

CORPORATES
ENGIE SA, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, JOBS, TRANSPORT AND RESOURCES, GRATTAN INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE, COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENTS, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY. CENTRE FOR CLIMATE ECONOMICS AND POLICY

Drums beat on $6b Snowy Hydro sale

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Original article by Ben Potter, Lucille Keen, Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 24-Aug-16

The Federal Goverment has downplayed media reports which suggested that it is considering the privatisation of Snowy Hydro as part of its strategy to balance the Budget. Snowy Hydro is estimated to be worth around $A6bn, which would value the Federal Government’s 13 per cent stake about about $A800m. The Government had rejected the National Commission of Audit’s 2014 recommendation to privatise Snowy Hydro, while a previous sale proposal in 2006 caused disunity within the Coalition.

CORPORATES
SNOWY HYDRO LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL COMMISSION OF AUDIT, NEW SOUTH WALES. THE TREASURY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Power ‘at risk’ over CFMEU dispute

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Original article by Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 3 : 12-Jul-16

The Fair Work Commission has ruled in AGL Energy’s favour in a dispute with the Construction, Forestry, Energy & Mining Union. An interim order requires workers at AGL’s Loy Yang A power station in Victoria to resume normal working hours. AGL had alleged that the CFMEU’s ban on working overtime constituted unprotected industrial action. The dispute centres on the CFMEU’s wage claim, which would result in Loy Yang workers being paid an average of $A180,000 per year for a four-day working week.

CORPORATES
AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, LOY YANG A

Old power stations under fire in ALP’s climate change plan

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Original article by Sid Maher
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 11-Apr-16

The Federal Opposition is developing a new climate change policy whose aims will include generating of 50 per cent of Australia’s energy via renewable sources by 2030. The policy is also believed to include measures to decommission coal-fired power stations, the progressive reintroduction of an emissions trading scheme and an inquiry into the nation’s electric power industry. However, the Opposition has ruled out a carbon tax.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. CLIMATE CHANGE AUTHORITY, PITT AND SHERRY CONSULTING ENGINEERS, GRATTAN INSTITUTE

Union goes power crazy

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Original article by Stephen Drill
Herald Sun – Page: 5 : 22-Jan-16

The 600 workers at AGL Energy’s Loy Yang power station and coal mine in Victoria are seeking a pay rise of 20 per cent over four years. The Construction, Forestry, Mining & Energy Union’s log of claims includes paying employees for the time it takes to walk from the car park to their workstations. It is estimated that the proposed wage rise would increase the average worker’s salary to $A180,000 a year for a four-day working week.

CORPORATES
AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA