Image for Waratah-Wynyard council votes to look at buying bulk power from interstate

Rebellion is spreading…

Gleaned from interview on ABC radio with Leon Compton and Councillor Francis Ransley.

EDITED VERSION

Last night, Waratah-Wynyard council voted unanimously to look at buying bulk power from interstate.

Councillor Francis Ransley says he is concerned at the number of monopolies forced on Tasmanians, including the supply of electricity.

“We don’t have a choice about where we get our power, and we’re also told how much we’ve got to pay,” he said, “but there’s no market or competition to ascertain what is a fair price.”

Cr Ransley said he thought 10,000 ratepayers in the Waratah-Wynyard area might be considered a big customer.  The council would negotiate a bulk price, he said, then customers would pay the council as their supplier, as is done in other parts of Australia.

“We’ve got so much hardship on the basics of life, that you’ve got to take every opportunity to keep costs down.”


AGENDA (MINUTES NOT YET PUBLISHED)

Waratah-Wynyard Council – Ordinary Meeting Agenda – 21 February 2011

10.2 NOTICE OF MOTION - CR RANSLEY – CONTESTABLE ELECTRICITY SUPPLIES

That the Council:

1.  Investigate the possibility of negotiating a price for the purchase of bulk electricity from suppliers across Australia for the rate payers of Waratah- Wynyard; and

2.  Research be undertaken and subsequently a report be presented to the Council to establish the ability of the Council to co-ordinate the contestability of residential and low volume commercial electricity supply for occupiers in the municipality.

RATIONALE

Recent media reporting has revealed that a number of State Government Agencies have determined to purchase their power needs through retailers other than the Government Business Enterprise, Aurora.

I understand that presently the same opportunity is not available to individual domestic and commercial users where the consumption use is comparatively low.

I believe there should be a mechanism to open up these market segments for further contestability, perhaps, for instance, by conglomerating users in municipal areas.

Council Agenda and Minutes
http://www.warwyn.tas.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=399