Energy
Media and commentary related to our work to protect consumer rights and ensure everyone in our community can access the affordable, efficient and clean energy they need.
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Anthony Albanese labels NSW energy deal ‘one of the biggest announcements’ he’ll make in office
Anthony Albanese has labelled the federal government’s $5bn spend on the Snowy Hydro 2.0 project in New South Wales as one of the most significant announcements he will make as prime minister. On Wednesday Albanese and Dominic Perrottet formally announced the almost $8bn joint-funding deal with the NSW government on poles and wires to connect…
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Overhaul of energy concessions needed as three million households struggle to pay their energy bills
A report released today by social service organisations found that while around three million households receive some form of ongoing financial assistance for their energy bills, the poor design and implementation of the assistance means too many people still can’t afford the energy they need. Too many people are depriving themselves of energy taking fewer…
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Community feedback prompts changes to transmission upgrade route
The Ballarat end of the contentious VNI West transmission line may be changing, after community feedback prompted Transgrid and the energy market operator to look at other options. The feedback around land use between Bendigo and Ballarat has forced the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) and the transmission company to rethink a Western Renewables Link…
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2SER interview: energy reliability
According to recent media coverage, Australia is facing an escalating risk of power shortages. Some commentators are blaming the transition to clean energy, saying we’re switching off coal-powered plants without a reliable alternative to fill the gap in generation. Last week the Australian Energy Market Commission’s Reliability Panel and the Australian Energy Market Operator both released…
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Improved efficiency standards for new houses in NSW
PIAC’s Energy + Water Consumer Advocacy Program (EWCAP) has welcomed the Commonwealth, state and territory government agreement to improve residential energy efficiency standards in the National Construction Code. The changes, supported by a joint community and industry campaign, will lift minimum NatHERS energy efficiency ratings from 6 to 7 Stars and require homes to meet…
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Does Australia need Tasmania to become a multi-billion-dollar ‘Battery of the Nation’?
Public Interest Advocacy Centre senior energy advisor Craig Memery said the Tasmanian Battery of the Nation project was a sounder investment than Snowy 2.0, which he describes as being “planned on the back of an envelope”.
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Calls for energy businesses to operate in good faith
ABC NewsRadio’s Thomas Oriti spoke to senior energy advisor with the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, Craig Memery.
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‘The prices are so much more’: how apartment dwellers get locked into bad power deals
Program director Douglas McCloskey said the structural disadvantages people living in embedded networks faced would hit “particularly hard” if energy prices continued to rise. “People living in embedded networks should have a right to access the energy they need as affordably and fairly as everyone else,” he said.
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AEMO flags level three ‘lack of reserve’ notice across SA, VIC, NSW and Tasmania
Profiteering and bad behaviour would need to be reviewed in the wake of the energy crunch, according to the Public Interest Advocacy Centre’s Craig Memery. “I expect there will be big reviews over the next year that find some* generation businesses have been profiteering through bad behaviour in the #energycrisis. It’s particularly off when you…
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Power companies accused of engineering crisis for profit
Multibillion-dollar power companies are being accused by regulators of driving the power shortages striking the nation in order to receive more compensation payments.