February 18, 2004 - Greens MLC Robin Chapple claimed today that the 'power supply crisis' has been created by a string of successive WA Governments. Existing energy provision structures in WA are fundamentally flawed. The new proposals will only make this worse, and will still be unable to provide a sustainable flow of energy to the State's consumers.
Energy is a scare resource that should be properly managed now and in the future. Its value and importance is such that it should not be handed over to the uncertain outcomes of competition policy, said Mr Chapple.
The evidence was out there years ago- internationally and interstate- that a move towards privatisation of energy supply merely drives energy suppliers to sell more energy.
Due to increased temperatures and consumer's use of cooling devices, and a lack of infrastructure development, Queensland, NSW and SA have also experienced blackouts.
Neither the Government nor Western Power have done anything to encourage renewables, continually denying renewables' access to the grid, and doing little to manage the demand side of energy.
Under the Electricity Industry Reform structure Western Power-Retail is required to maximise their profit- and promote energy use. This is unsustainable on social and environmental grounds warned Mr Chapple.
Last year we saw the not-really-privatised Western Power going hell for leather to increase peoples' consumption of heavily greenhouse gas producing electricity, by promoting the sale of reverse-cycle air conditioners, and not investing in appropriate generation capacity, stated Mr Chapple.
People may be very hot and excited about this now- but the sad fact is that this is boring in its utter predictability. Unfortunately, we can expect more of the same under the existing government policy and the proposed restructure of Western Power, said Mr Chapple.
