Keep assets in public hands and save consumers $310 per year off power bills: ETU tells Government LNP steals part of ETU electricity pricing policy The Electrical Trades Union says Queenslanders can have sustainable electricity price relief and public ownership. ETU State Secretary Peter Simpson said yesterday’s backflip by the LNP was a short term political solution but did open up an important debate about the future of the SBS and Uniform Tariff Policy under privatisation. “The backflip on funding for the Solar Bonus Scheme picks up part of our policy (Attached: ETU 30 year strategy submission 2013) which included “ring fencing” the profits and dividends generated by public electricity assets and using the funds to provide price relief for Queenslanders, the important difference is that the capacity to provide that relief goes well beyond the five years outlined by the Government, our policy is sustainable into the future” 4) Ring-fence all future dividends from publically owned energy businesses and rather than returning funds to consolidated revenue use those funds for: o Consumer price relief in the form of subsidies and rebates. o Fully fund renewable schemes such as solar feed-in tariff. o Maintain the Uniform Tariff Policy. o Invest in development and research of emerging energy technologies. “The LNP as usual have tried to cherry pick sort term political solutions rather than actually dealing with the facts, the fact is under public ownership dividends generated by public owned electricity companies can and have for some time been able to more than pay for both the SBS and UTP and have money left over. This fact was laid out quite clearly in the Orion Report released earlier this year” “That report showed that even after the SBS and the UTP had been paid for, there would be enough left over from dividend payments to provide further relief to the tune of $167 per household in 2015, making a minimum saving to the average Queensland household of $310 per year with that figure projected to increase year on year. All achieved without the privatisation of public electricity assets”. “What the report revealed was the true worth to every household of public ownership if the profits are put back into combating price increases which are having a massive impact on families abc.net.au/news/2014-10-13/1-in-8-australians-cant-pay-electricity-bill/5805886 The more profits that public owned businesses earn, the bigger the rebate will be. All that’s needed is for the Government to have the fortitude to implement this policy.” Simpson said. “When we released the report in February this year the Government dismissed it as over simplifying the situation and that funding the SBS and UTP out of dividends would force public transport fares up, what has changed”? “Public opinion has changed, the Government has been found out telling lies about combatting cost of living pressures and now they are trying to bribe voters with a promise of lower electricity prices, but only if you sell off the family silver, it’s cynical attempt to buy votes and while we welcome the debate it should never be done with a privatisation gun to the head” Links Orion Report in full – etu.org.au/document/orion-report-queenslands-power-industry-0 Orion Report Media Release 13 Feb 2014 - etu.org.au/press-releases/report-shows-power-prices-could-drop-310-year-without-asset-sales ETU 30 year strategy submission 2013 - etu.org.au/document/etu-30-year-electricity-strategy-discussion-paper
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 04:29:43 +0000
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