The South Australian Government has announced it will commission modelling of alternative energy policies, following the COAG Energy Council voting against a proposal to model a Clean Energy Target and an Energy Intensity Scheme in parallel to the National Energy Guarantee (NEG).
Minister for Energy, Tom Koutsantonis, moved the amendment, supported by the ACT, in an effort to ensure the council could make a fully informed decision in 2018 on which mechanism is the best to drive lower emissions while lowering price and increasing reliability.
Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and the Commonwealth voted against commissioning the further work through the Energy Security Board.
“We have had no explanation from Josh Frydenberg or the Energy Security Board as to why the CET, which was recommended by Chief Scientist Alan Finkel, or an EIS, previously supported by Malcolm Turnbull, is no longer being considered,” Mr Koutsantonis said.
“To proceed the NEG would require unanimous support at COAG, so this policy is either years away, or won’t happen at all. What we want for South Australia is energy self-sufficiency, more competition from renewables and to break up the market power of the big gentailers created by the privatisation of ETSA. A NEG would do nothing to achieve those goals.”
