Group slams energy plan

Summaries - Australian Financial Review
Wednesday 15/10/2008 Page: 8

The Energy Users Association of Australia has criticised the Rudd government for its 'unnecessarily ambitious' plan to introduce an emissions trading scheme and compensate coal electricity generators to help maintain investor confidence. The group claims that a similar move in the European Union resulted in big power companies reaping windfall profits at the expense of other industries less able to pass on the additional costs of carbon trading to consumers.

The EUAA also said the government should be focusing on transition to cleaner electricity sources rather than propping up the coal-fired generators. The National Generators Forum said it was important to protect the financial strength of the generators while TRUEnergy warned that any policy which financially impairs generators could jeopardise electricity supplies.