Profits into Qld budget

MILLIONS of dollars in profits from North Queensland’s only energy provider are being used to prop up the State Government’s budget instead of reducing the crippling cost of electricity.

Annual reports released by the Government show Ergon Energy Queensland made a $375 million profit before income tax in the 2017/18 financial year, which was more than double the previous year.

Reports also show Energy Queensland – a merger of the state’s electricity providers, including Ergon – returned a total profit of $809 million for the year, well above the company’s target of $612 million.

Energy Queensland returned a $1.161 billion total dividend to the government, of which about $852 million was then spent on electricity customer rebates, concessions and cost reducing initiatives.

The remaining $309 million went to Queensland Treasury to be used for other State Budget expenses. The Energy Queensland annual report was one of more than 100 documents released by the Government in the past week.