Labor has pressured the government on what it is doing to help Tasmanian farmers who face power price hikes of between 30 and 60 per cent after signing new energy contracts.
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On the second day of budget estimates, Labor energy spokesman David O’Byrne said farmers were being slugged with the rise despite the state government lauding the lowest energy prices in the country for residents and small businesses.
Energy Minister Guy Barnett said the government had a $5 million farm energy policy, that included a tariff review for farmers, which it was working on with the TFGA.
He said Aurora had appointed a farm energy advocate through which farmers could obtain energy audits to find ways to lower energy costs.
The government plans to break away from the National Energy Market by 2021 in an effort to evade soaring wholesale power prices being experienced by mainland states.
In reply to a question from Mr O’Byrne on the risks, Mr Barnett said energy consultants had conducted a study of the impacts on behalf of Treasury last October though would not reveal what the move would do to the finances of the state’s government-owned energy companies.
“What I can say is that the three GBEs are sustainable and profitable,” Mr Barnett said.
On the state’s pumped hydro potential, Greens energy spokeswoman Rosalie Woodruff questioned Mr Barnett on what he was doing to ensure the state would not be lumped with funding the required $5 billion in infrastructure needed to realise the project.
He said a feasibility study was being done to determine the economic arrangement.
Mr Barnett said the 14 high-potential sites that had been identified for pumped hydro story would be to five to seven sites to double the state’s energy capacity.
He said the development of the project would span over 10 to 15 years with many sites based in the North, North-West and Central Highlands.
Mr Barnett was taken to task by Labor’s Shane Broad for advising that a low-income household wanting to access an energy loan scheme be directed to another no-interest loan scheme which had no available funding.
Dr Broad said the constituent wanted to access the no-interest Tasmanian Energy Efficiency Loans Scheme which is run with support from Westpac.
Instead, he was directed to the No Interest Loans Scheme for low-income Tasmanians, only to find it had been fully subscribed within three weeks of receiving its nominated funding.
Mr Barnett said NILS had assisted more than 1000 people since November 2015.
Political reporter for Australian Community Media, based in Hobart.
Political reporter for Australian Community Media, based in Hobart.
