OFFICIAL: AURORA’S BELL BAY POWER STATION IS A WHITE ELEPHANT
Following Independent Review Panel’s Damning Verdict, Labor Must Lift Burden From Mums & Dads
Kim Booth MP
Greens Energy spokesperson
Tuesday, 5 July 2011
The Tasmanian Greens today demanded the Energy Minister, Bryan Green MP, act after the damning verdict by the Independent Electricity Supply Industry Expert Panel that Aurora Energy’s Tamar Valley Power Station (AETV) was commercially unviable.
Greens Energy spokesperson Kim Booth MP said the Electricity Supply Industry Expert Panel’s latest issue paper, released in June 2011, vindicated the Greens’ long-held warning that Aurora’s purchase of the gas-fired Bell Bay station would be a white elephant, which ordinary consumers would end up paying for.
“The Bell Bay power station has proved the disaster the Greens always warned it would be. The panel found that the only way to avoid a massive write down of its value and to recover costs is to slug the non-contestable customers. That means mum and dad electricity users picking up the tab for Labor’s flawed decision-making,” said Mr Booth.
“The independent energy expert review panel’s latest paper is damning. It says that Aurora realised after commissioning “that revenues available from the market would not be sufficient to operate the [power station] on a commercial basis”. Further, that the power station “has not yet yielded sufficient value to support the cost [of constructing] of the TVPS (Tamar Valley Power Station)”.
“Labor must accept responsibility for directing Aurora to purchase the station and my constant warnings this would drive power prices through the roof.”
“Last year, I wrote to the then-Treasurer, Michael Aird, expressing the Greens’ deep concerns “about the impact of any further power-price rises on all Tasmanian consumers, especially our most vulnerable”. This was why, in the same letter, we called for the purchase of the Bell Bay power station by Aurora to be included in the remit of the independent expert energy review panel, which we successfully negotiated to have established last year.”
“The panel has subsequently identified the Bell Bay power station as a financial black hole. Labor urgently needs to act to alleviate this massive financial burden carried by mum and dad consumers for this costly mistake made by the previous Labor majority government, which was inevitably supported at the time by the Liberals.”
“Labor needs to consider directing Aurora to spread its cost to its major industrial consumers, instead of mums and dads having to carry the can.”
“Given these tough economic times, Mr Green simply cannot sit back and do nothing as families struggle to pay for this costly Labor mistake, endorsed by the Liberals.”
“The Greens will pursue this issue and do all we can to ensure we don’t see another bailout of a failed private enterprise, like the Triabunna woodchip mill, using scarce taxpayer money,” said Mr Booth.
Attached:
http://mps.tas.greens.org.au/2010/09/energy-review-legislation-tabled-provides-expert-panel-with-teeth/
http://mps.tas.greens.org.au/2010/08/latest-price-rise-demonstrates-need-for-energy-review-mum-and-dad-power-users-paying-for-ruinous-basslink-rental-and-ill-advised-purchase-of-aetv/
http://mps.tas.greens.org.au/2010/06/greens-secure-energy-expert-panel/
Download:
Jul5_Letter_to_Treasurer_reEnergy_Review_Jun2010_K_Booth_ATTACH.pdf
