Tuesday 10 February 2009

Risk to climate-change projects seen

Summaries - Australian Financial Review
Friday 6/2/2009 Page: 17

A ruling by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER), which in effect suggests lowering the returns permitted to investors in electricity network distribution and transmission businesses, could reduce future investment in technology needed for climate change. The Energy Networks Australia, representing Grid Australia and the Australian Pipeline Industry Association, made a submission to the regulator that claimed the proposal would result in returns to investors that were too low to attract investment for new technologies to tackle climate change.

Boutique fund manager RARE Infrastructure said that the ability of the AER to raise new capital could be affected by the draft ruling. RARE Infrastructure said it had reduced its investment allocation for the Spanish gas company Enagas. Victorian Energy Minister Peter Batchelor said one of the key problems faced by the industry was to allow it to secure capital to implement the changes required under the Federal Government's climate-change policies.

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