The Australian energy system stands as a monument to vested interests.
Key points:
- The majority of a grid owners’ income is guaranteed by the regulators’ valuation of the network
- The Australian network is valued at $US75b, compared to the entire US network valued at $US100b
- When the grids’ earnings fall, prices can go up to cover the shortfall
It is a system controlled by owners who are protected from market forces and state governments content to milk consumers for all they’re worth and more — because the rules allow it.
“The operators have spent a lot of money on building their networks to potentially provide excessive reliability,” Craig Memery from the Public Interest Advocacy Centre says…