Extract from ABC News
Updated
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Industry are calling for stable climate change policy, in order to move toward clean energy systems. (Adrian Colton)
Australia's electricity industry has issued a
strongly worded plea to federal and state governments to quickly decide
on ways to transform Australia's ageing energy grid.
In a joint
statement released ahead of tomorrow's Council of Australian Governments
meeting, the groups representing generators, distributors and retailers
say a national, market-based carbon price is the best option to make
the transition to a cleaner energy system.The Australian Energy Council and Energy Networks Australia said without change, customers face higher prices and an increasingly unstable electricity supply.
"For the last decade we've had ongoing, policy uncertainty about [an] electricity industry push for a carbon price to aid transition to clean energy system, and what that's meant is businesses trying to borrow and invest to rebuild and build the grid have been really constrained," the Council's chief executive Matthew Warren said.
"After a decade things are beginning to get critical and we can no longer keep waiting to make the investments we need to keep the system working efficiently."The council said it still supported a market-based measure, like an emissions intensity scheme for the electricity sector or an economy wide carbon price, despite the Prime Minister's decision to explicitly rule both out this week.
"We certainly think the 2017 review of climate policy remains a great opportunity to reset where we are in Australia," Mr Warren said.
"We do have a lot more change to make than other parts of the world, and we do need to design policy to fit, but that doesn't stop us getting on with that process.
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He said there are other ways to achieve cuts in emissions through regulation of the electricity industry or carbon taxes, but a market based mechanism would be the lowest cost, and most efficient.
"We're happy with anything that does the job and does it efficiently and we would like all options on the table in the review next year," Mr Warren said.
Mr Warren said he understood why the South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill would suggest a state based emissions trading scheme in the absence of a national policy, but he said it was unlikely to deliver the certainty needed by the industry.
He said it will "cost more" to rebuild the electricity grid to produce lower emissions, but that wouldn't necessarily have to be passed on to consumers.
"The unit cost of electricity may increase but we don't think power bills have to go up if we're smart about this."
Mr Warren said the use of rooftop solar panels, smart meters, and battery storage could all contribute to keeping costs lower.
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