Electricity supply
18 March 2019
LNG row foreshadows the bill that’s due for failed energy policy
Whoever wins the imminent federal election will need to get serious on climate change. The mess that policy uncertainty has imposed on the domestic electricity sector is now being mirrored in gas and coal.
6 March 2019
Clear policy plans needed for cheaper power
Developing a comprehensive, integrated approach to energy and climate policy doesn’t fit the immediate political need. The best we might hope for is minimum harm in the short term, followed by a deep breath and some clear-headed leadership from whoever forms government after the 2019 federal election.
12 February 2019
Only clear policy can give us power supply certainty
The best thing the federal government can do for people worried about electricity reliability is to end the policy uncertainty. It should revive and implement the discarded National Energy Guarantee.
10 February 2019
Blackouts and the politics of power
Increasing extremely hot weather and increasing deployment of solar and wind power create challenges for managing the power system. But Australia has the technologies, tools and systems to cost-effectively meet these challenges without a panic response. We should use them.
6 February 2019
Year ahead could make or break the COAG Energy Council
2019 may be the year in which policy and political maturity propels Australia’s energy system to a better future. The alternative is more depressing outcomes for affordable, low-emissions and reliable energy.
30 January 2019
Learning the lessons of a power blackout near-miss
The rolling power cuts during Victoria’s summer heatwave simply underscore the need for investment certainty that the National Energy Guarantee would have created.
23 January 2019
Poorly considered market interventions: an inefficient path to lower power prices
Australians want cheaper power, and they welcome governments taking on the big power companies to deliver that result. But hasty government intervention risks making things worse rather than better. In this submission to a Senate committee, Grattan’s Tony Wood and Guy Dundas warn that a short-term ‘company bashing’ approach may prove counter-productive.
16 January 2019
35 degree days make blackouts more likely, but new power stations won’t help
Summer is here with a vengeance. On hot days it’s very likely something in the power system will break and cause someone to lose power. And the weather bureau expects this summer to be hotter and drier than average – so your chances of losing power will be higher than normal.
10 December 2018
Newsflash. The government doesn’t need to break up power companies in order to tame prices. The ACCC says so
The federal Government should consider divestment powers broadly, rather than rushing to introduce them in one sector of the economy, electricity, because of a concern that its prices are too high.
23 November 2018
Labor’s battery plan – good policy, or just good politics?
Federal Labor obviously likes the politics of giving rebates of up to A$2,000 each to 100,000 households of prospective voters so they can install domestic batteries. But is this good policy that will support Australia’s transition to a reliable, affordable, low-emissions energy system, or is it just middle-class welfare?