The NSW Energy Minister, Matt Kean, has been criticized for blaming rising energy costs on everyone but his own party.
As taxpayers in multiple Australian states brace themselves for energy bill spikes of between 20 and 30 percent, Kean did little to reassure voters that his party would find a solution ahead of the looming election.
Businesses are closing due to skyrocketing energy prices, and Australians are facing frequent and widespread blackouts due to “reliability gaps” in the power system by 2025.
Kean blamed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for the soaring costs during a press conference in Sydney.
However, he failed to mention that his government’s decisions may have contributed to the hikes affecting families.
In 2021, the government rejected an offer from Origin Energy to buy Eraring coal power station, which is responsible for 25 percent of electricity in NSW.
This decision may have contributed to the impending price hikes affecting families.
Labor’s Chris Minns has indicated that he would consider buying Eraring to ease prices and avoid mass blackouts if he wins the March 25 election.
The Snowy 2.0 hydropower project, touted as a part of the solution, has experienced significant delays and is not expected to be up and running until at least 2027.
Meanwhile, millions of Australians can expect residential electricity price increases of between 19.5 and 23.7 percent, depending on the state and provider.
Small business customers could face price increases of between 14.7 and 25.4 percent, depending on their regions and providers.
Kean announced a tender process would begin next month for “firming infrastructure” to keep the lights on in NSW.
Firming infrastructure means putting back-up sources in place to keep power supplied to the grid when intermittent renewable energy lapses due to weather conditions.
Gas generators fueled by renewable hydrogen or biogas are the planned alternative source of power generation in NSW, but they will not come online until at least 2025.
The Eraring power station, which has a much larger capacity, is now being touted as a potential solution to keeping the lights switched on across the state beyond 2025.
Australian companies are going bust under the combined weight of soaring staff wages, the rising cost of supplies, and interest rates hikes reducing customers’ spending.
Business owners are being forced to close, including Caruso’s Italian Restaurant in Gymea, SpitJack in Melbourne, and Bell’s Kitchen & Takeaway in Vincent, Queensland.
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