Fat margins driving up power bills

BLAMING the introduction of renewable energy sources for sky-high electricity bills is a “cheap shot” not supported by facts, the Australian head of the world’s biggest green utility says.

Acciona Australia managing director Brett Wickham says the gold plating of transmission lines and fat profit margins collected by retailers are the key drivers of power prices that have galloped far ahead of living costs.

“Renewables are not the price pressure problem,” Mr Wickham said..

“Mums and dads are being charged 35c a kilowatt hour so there is an awful lot of money disappearing somewhere and I wouldn’t like to see renewables blamed for high power prices, because they are not (to blame).”

The competition watchdog is probing the nation’s electricity market in the wake of residential prices surging 63 per cent above inflation over the past decade.