“Social welfare groups are demanding assurances from the Baird government that struggling households will not have to bear long-term costs of its proposed electricity networks lease.
The Council of Social Service of NSW has urged the government to include safeguards in the lease structure so that consumers, already burdened with high bills, are not exposed to the risk of paying “change-of-ownership” costs in the future.
In a new report, the peak body said the risk was highlighted in the attempts by three NSW electricity retailers privatised in 2011 to have the loss of special government support, worth more than $200 million, covered by consumers.”
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