Switch off rhetoric, let market decide

THE price of electricity will be a defining issue this state election.

I’m not sure this will be the only issue voters take into account but there is no doubt our businesses and households are crying out for relief.

I also don’t doubt most people here see the development of a coal- fired power station in North Queensland as the answer.

Given that, I thought I’d share some information which came across my desk this week.

Data produced by research analysts Bloomberg New Energy Finance finds the levelised cost of newly installed electricity in Australia this year is about $ 60 per megawatt hour for wind, $ 80 per megawatt hour for solar, $ 60 per megawatt hour for gas and $ 120 per megawatt hour for coal.

I don’t doubt many people will find fault with these figures.

Energy analyst Hugh Grant has fired me a missive stating that profit accounts for about one third of the average Queensland electricity bill – that is $ 600 in a $ 1750 bill.

He says that means the Queensland Government, through its ownership of companies Energy Queensland and Powerlink, collects over $ 500 of this profit.

The Labor Government has announced it will forgo $ 50 for each household bill, while the LNP says it will hand back between $ 82 and $ 171, depending on how much power you use.

Mr Grant takes issue with the LNP figures, saying their saving will be similar to Labor’s.

He suggests the policies of the Greens and Katter’s Australia Party mean bills will be reduced by $ 500 and that One Nation will lower bills by $ 350, given its pledge for a 20 per cent cut.

I agree with BHP chief Andrew MacKenzie, who said this week that dogmatic politicians and lobbyists pushing a particular energy source should back off and let the market decide based on principles of affordability, reliability and emissions reductions.

I don’t think that’s too much to ask.