Greens Leader, Adam Bandt, has laid the blame for rising power prices on the government’s failure to make progress on the transition to renewable energy with storage and Labor’s pledge that coal-fired power stations will remain in the system just as long under Labor as under Liberal.
AEMO was very explicit that the cause of the price rise was primarily coal power station breakdowns and rising coal prices.
Adam Bandt MP said:
“Coal is driving up the cost of electricity. We need a plan to switch from coal to renewables, but Liberal and Labor are both pledging to keep coal in the system for longer.
“So long as Liberal and Labor governments keep running a protection racket for coal and gas, Australians will pay the price in their power bills.”
“With the Liberals propping up ageing, unreliable coal and Labor vowing that no coal fired power station will close early, the only way to get Australia out of coal is to put the Greens into balance of power.
“The Greens plan is for an orderly closure of coal-fired power stations by 2030, large scale investment in publicly-owned renewables and storage, and an end to subsidies for coal and gas.
“The Greens also have a plan that will help people get batteries for their homes and switch from gas to renewables, cutting power bills and cutting pollution. Government support has helped bring down the cost of solar panels, and the Greens want to do the same with batteries.”