Malcolm Turnbull has revealed his government’s rebuttal to the Finkel Report, unveiling a new energy policy which dumps the current CET (Clean Energy Target) in favour of supporting fossil fuels.
The new National Energy Guarantee – or NEG – is the new acronym on the block, which the Government claims will guarantee better supply and lower emissions.
And it hopes to lower prices for power, although no one can exactly say how much it will save you.
The Government also says it will reduce emissions enough to uphold our end of the Paris climate change agreement. The new deal effectively ends subsidies and incentives for renewables, instead relying on retailers to make good on supplying power that meets Australia’s efficiency and emissions obligations. They are required to use a percentage of electricity from sources such as coal and gas, batteries or pumped hydro.
The PM has also pitched that the NEG would supply “cheaper, more reliable electricity for Australian families and businesses”.
“Your power bills are too high and rising too fast,” he said.
The Government claims that, from 2020, a typical household could save an average of $110 and $115 each year for a decade.
However, the head of the Energy Market Commission, John Pierce, who was part of the Energy Security Board that costed the NEG for the Government, reiterated that the figure was an average over the decade, hinting that savings would be much lower in the early years.
He told Sky News those savings could initially be as low as $25 a year.
One thing the NEG does ‘guarantee’ is reliable supply.
The Government believes it will get its plan through without federal legislation, but it will need to be signed off by the states and territories. He already has the backing of energy retailers.
The Opposition called Malcolm Turnbull’s plan a capitulation to former PM Tony Abbott’s energy philosophy.
What do you think of the NEG? Would you like more of a guarantee on what you’ll pay for power? Is a saving of $25 a year enough to warrant scrapping incentives for clean power?
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