*Keeping the lights on while we wait for green energy
Friday, 24 May 2024
*This opinion piece was originally published on page 6 of the Daily Telegraph on Friday, 24 May 2024.
Yesterday, the New South Wales Government announced a deal with Origin Energy to keep Eraring power station online for two further years.
The truth is, we didn’t have a choice in the matter.
On Tuesday, we received a report from the national energy operator, which forecast a gap in the state’s energy supply over the next three years.
That was not a situation I was ever willing to risk.
Labor has made a responsible call, which will keep our lights on across the state, protect households from higher energy bills, while giving us time to build the clean energy of the future.
As Premier, I’ve always been a big believer in renewable energy.
Every day, more solar panels are being installed, more batteries are being plugged in, more wind farms are coming online.
Every new watt of cheap power is a win for NSW.
At the same time, we have a responsibility to support people as we take this journey.
Nothing would undermine support for this transition faster than a spike in power prices, or a run of blackouts over summer.
Extending the life of Eraring to cover these gaps is the right call in these circumstances.
What’s more, we’ve signed a much better deal than the $3 billion agreement pushed by the Coalition during their last term of government.
We won’t be making any upfront payments to Origin Energy.
Instead we’ll be underwriting their operations, with a profit and risk sharing agreement and a guaranteed minimum supply of electricity.
We also received a guarantee from Origin that they will keep their existing workforce on the job for the life of the deal.
This is a good outcome, but it would have been a lot quicker and a lot easier if the Coalition hadn’t privatised this power station just over a decade ago.
Privatisation took power out of public hands, meaning we had to negotiate with private companies to ensure our lights stay on.
In Queensland, they kept control over their electricity assets, which gives them better control over supply, prices and the transition to renewables.
More proof, if you ever needed it, that privatising essential assets doesn’t work. Looking forward, NSW can be confident in the progress we are making on clean energy.
Since the election, we’ve supported enough new clean energy projects to power one million households for a year. That progress will continue, getting more and more cheap energy into the grid.
But, as I promised before the election, we will always make sure the transition is methodical and orderly, giving much needed certainty to businesses and families in this state.
This opinion piece was originally published on page 6 of the Daily Telegraph on Friday, 24 May 2024.
