Rosalie Woodruff MP | Greens Energy spokesperson
Today at 11.30am the spot price for electricity in Tasmania was $594/MWh, compared to between $75 and $82/MWh across the other states in the national electricity market.
This represents the real price of generating electricity in Tasmania at that time, and gives an indication of the massive costs of the current energy crisis.
Businesses who find themselves out of an electricity supply contract, or having to negotiate a new one, are exposed to the market spot price and are increasingly under extreme financial pressure.
Minister Groom needs to do everything he can to ease the load on these businesses to make sure they don’t go under in the next few months.
This is the time for the Minister to show some leadership and help businesses with energy efficiency options.
It’s also time to look at everything he can do to reduce demand in the Tasmanian electricity system and the price spike. Rooftop solar owners only get paid 6c/KWh for the electricity they contribute, which is too low to support investment in the industry.
If the Minister is serious about wanting to generate reliable power in Tasmania, he could put up the tariff and kick start the solar industry and regional jobs.