Alternative Views:
National energy guarantee - an ‘omissions’ trading scheme
See if you can guess who wrote this and when –
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“Politics is about conviction and a commitment to carry out those convictions. Many…are rightly dismayed that on this vital issue of climate change we are not simply without a policy, without any prospect of having a credible policy, but we are now without integrity. We have given our opponents the irrefutable, undeniable evidence that we cannot be trusted.”
That was Malcolm Turnbull in 2009.
The current federal government’s National Energy Guarantee (NEG) scheme was introduced after the government rejected the key recommendation of the Finkel Review to establish a Clean Energy Target.
“The NEG is likely to deliver outcomes that will protect coal generators from competition provided by renewables and batteries and will undermine the efficiency of investment in renewable generation capacity. “ (ACF – reports – National Energy Guarantee briefing, February 2, 2018)
It is difficult to understand why a government that is supposed to be a champion of the free market would seek to implement a policy that will “develop a market in which prices are obscured or, ideally, not at all visible. A corollary of poor price discovery is inefficient trade. Without a transparent price it is harder for buyers and sellers to find each other and agree mutually acceptable bargains. It is also harder for them to hedge their exposure to future price risks and this undermines their ability to make efficient investment decisions.” (ACF – reports – National Energy Guarantee briefing, 2 Feb 2018)
What does this mean for consumers and the market?
“The ultimate cost of this inefficiency is borne by consumers in the form of higher electricity prices, in emission reductions that are more expensive and in a less secure power system. “(ACF – reports – National Energy Guarantee briefing, February 2, 2018)