FAIRER DEAL IN POWER PLAY

Monopoly must end to bring down costs

TOWNSVILLE and Cairns should have their electricity markets thrown open to competition in trials that would bring down bills and also end eye- watering subsidies being funded by taxpayers.

The Queensland Competition Authority’s ( QCA) review to set regional electricity prices for 2018- 19 has been told growing subsidies of more than $ 500,000 million a year – and rising – that bring down prices for regional households and business are getting out of control and Ergon must be forced to compete against new retailers.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland ( CCIQ) argues the Palaszczuk Government should introduce a deregulated market that mirrors southeast Queensland before businesses take matters into their own hands and go off grid with their own power- generating assets.

“CCIQ supports the principle of not penalising regional, rural and remote small businesses for their geographic location, however, continuing to subsidise at a cost of over a half a billion dollars annually is not a sustainable long- term solution,” its submission says.

Policy adviser Joseph Kelly said if the set up worked in the southeast, it should be trialled in Townsville and Cairns, with the idea of rolling out deregulation across regional centres.

He said allowing new retailers in would force Ergon to up their game and make internal savings.

It would also allow new retailers to set up in regional areas and invest in their own power sources, such as renewable energy, to sell more cheaply to customers in the long term.

Otherwise, businesses would increasingly invest in their own power generators, leaving fewer customers to pay for grid power in what has been termed a “death spiral” of higher costs, Mr Kelly said.

“Regional businesses crying out for relief, they need options, they need relief,” he said.

The QCA will hold meetings around the state in March and report its pricing decision mid- year.