Energy efficiency zapped

Sun Herald
Sunday 19/12/2010 Page: 18

ELECTRICITY retailers in NSW have been urged not to spend the $17.9 billion they had set aside for new substations, wires and power poles and to concentrate instead on making customers more energy efficient. If the spending goes ahead, household power bills could rise by as much as 35%, the NSW Greens have predicted. In addition, Greens MP John Kaye said new substations and powerlines could affect people's health, as a result of electromagnetic radiation, and could damage environmentally sensitive sites.

The call to curb spending has come in the same week that the state government sold the retail activities of EnergyAustralia, Integral Energy and Country Energy to private enterprise. The energy infrastructure, or network, remains in public hands. The Australian Energy Regulator rubber-stamped the Keneally government's decision to give $17.9 billion to the three energy companies and transmission company Trans Grid to fix ailing infrastructure in September.

On Thursday, federal Energy Minister Martin Ferguson published a report stating that up to $129 billion in investment was needed over the next 20 years to update the national power grid. But Mr Kaye said private power retailers would not be as willing to urge customers to engage in energy management activities such as using energy-efficient lighting and appliances, off-peak power and installing solar panels.

"The ability to manage the demand for electricity more sensibly is one of the alternatives to building all this new infrastructure", Mr Kaye said. "The problem is that when you privatise these corporations, they become less likely to be interested in energy efficiency. They want to sell more, they don't want to sell less. These companies will simply pass the power distribution costs to the householder".

Mr Kaye said EnergyAustralia was already planning a $50 million substation at Empire Bay on the central coast that threatened a sensitive wildlife area. He said Integral Energy wanted to install high-voltage transformers and cables, which emit harmful electromagnetic fields, next to houses, a TAFE college and a childcare centre at Granville. There were also substation plans for residential streets in Bondi and Ryde.

A spokesman for NSW Energy Minister Paul Lynch said the government had no say on when projects were completed or how the grid operated. Households are already coping with electricity price rises after the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal set future rises of 20 to 42% in the three years to June 2013 an additional $240 to $600 on the average bill.

Why your electricity bill will go up:

• Energy Minister Martin Ferguson said increases were "unavoidable" to guarantee supply after low infrastructure spending by the states.
• Over the next 20 years, $130 billion is needed to update power grid to meet increasing demand and comply with climate change policies.
• NSW electricity retailers are to spend $17.9 billion on infrastructure such as substations and power lines, adding up to 35% to bills
• The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal is allowing 20 to 42% price rises over three years, adding $240 to $600 to bills.
• Funding needed for "green energy" initiatives: solar and wind power
• Carbon tax could lift prices 46 to 64% over three years.