“The commitment to end coal-fired power generation in Victoria by 2035 is a direct and devastating economic attack on Victorian working families. It will set off a cost-of-living crisis the likes we have not seen,” said Daniel Wild, Deputy Executive Director of the Institute of Public Affairs.
The announcement today by the Victorian Government that it will a pursue a renewable energy target of 95 per cent by 2035 will see the energy bills of families and small businesses soar, and many manufacturing and resources jobs lost.
“It won’t be the wealthy, inner-city elites who will incur these costs, it will be working families and small businesses in the outer-suburbs and regions. At a time when energy bills are skyrocketing, this is the last thing struggling Victorian families need.”
The effective re-nationalisation of Victoria’s energy grid is an admission by Daniel Andrews that the state government has completely botched the energy market through commitments to net zero, and highly subsidised renewables, which have completely distorted the market.
“For years, the rhetoric of those who have pushed the net zero agenda have told us that the private sector wants renewables, that it is a cheaper source of energy and that it would unlock investment. This announcement proves that to be completely false,” Mr Wild said.
“By seeking to re-nationalise Victoria’s energy system, Daniel Andrews has confirmed that unaffordable, unreliable, and experimental renewables can only be sustained at the taxpayers’ expense.”
The IPA’s recent research report, Australia’s Net Zero Energy Crisis: An Analysis of the Electricity Price Implications of Net Zero Emissions by 2050, found that, historically, every gigawatt of coal-generated capacity removed from the National Electricity Market is linked to an increase in the average wholesale electricity price of approximately $22 per megawatt hour.
“Today’s announcement will decimate what is left of Victoria’s once great manufacturing and heavy industries, which seems to be the intent of those who push net zero policies,” Mr Wild said.
“Victoria needs more reliable and affordable energy, not unreliable and subsidised renewables. If we are going back to the dark old days of state-owned energy companies, it should, at a minimum, support reliable and affordable baseload power sources, such as coal and nuclear, and be focused on keeping the lights on.”
