Jay Weatherill and Steven Marshall debate over SA’ power crisis organised by Business SA and the Property Council

PREMIER Jay Weatherill has staked the his Government’s fate at the next election on energy policy but rejected suggestions that paying to keep the Northern Power Station open could have staved off supply problems.

Jay Weatherill and Steven Marshall shook hands ahead of the debate before the gloves came off. Picture: Mike Burton

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PREMIER Jay Weatherill has staked the his Government’s fate at the next election on energy policy but rejected suggestions that paying to keep the Northern Power Station open could have staved off supply problems.

During a leaders debate on Friday, Opposition Leader Steven Marshall challenged Mr Weatherill to reveal how much it would have cost to keep the Port Augusta coal-fired power station open longer, but he refused.

The station closed last May but the Opposition alleges that its owner, Alinta Energy, requested a financial contribution to keep it open that was “less than 10 per cent” of the $550 million Mr Weatherill has now pledged for a new energy security plan. Revealed on Tuesday, his plan includes building a $360 million state-owned gas power plant.

Mr Weatherill would not say how much money Alinta asked for.

There was an unofficial debate between Jay Weatherill and federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberd in Adelaide on Thursday.

The leaders faced off on Friday in an event organised by Business SA and the Property Council to mark one year until the next state election.

An exclusive Advertiser-Galaxy poll has found that voters in a clutch of seats that will be critical to the election result prefer Mr Weatherill as leader over Mr Marshall, despite blaming him for the power crisis.

Voters in the electorates of Adelaide and Mawson back the Liberal Party over Labor but they are yet to warm to the idea of making Mr Marshall the state’s next premier.

Mr Weatherill holds a 38-32 advantage as preferred leader in Adelaide, held by Liberal MP Rachel Sanderson, and a 37-32 edge in Mawson.

However, both seats returned massive undecided votes, of 30 and 31 respectively, on leadership.

This indicates flagging confidence in Mr Weatherill’s performance but enduring confusion about the alternative offered by Mr Marshall.

The major parties are deadlocked in Newland at 50-50 on a two-party basis.

There, Mr Marshall takes a 34-30 victory as preferred premier over Mr Weatherill.

However, the level of support for each man is eclipsed by the 36 per cent of people who like neither.

The polls of more than 500 people in each seat were taken on Tuesday evening, just hours after Mr Weatherill announced his power plan.

Despite this, Mr Weatherill copped the balance of the blame for the state’s energy woes in each seat.

Anger was highest in Adelaide, at 40 per cent, and came in at 39 per cent in the other two seats.

During the debate on Friday, Mr Marshall suggested that power company Alinta Energy put a request for financial assistance to the Government to “keep that baseload power station open for a period of time to manage the transition to renewable energies” — but it was rejected.

“Tell us now whether it was much lower than the $558 million that you’re now inflicting on the people of South Australia (for Labor’s power plan),” he said.

Mr Weatherill said he “can’t say” because of a confidentiality agreement.

However, he argued that Alinta’s proposal was “not something that was going to meet our needs”.

“We need something that can start quickly and effectively,” he said.

“It's a clunky old coal-fired power station.”

Property developer Theo Maras said the debate was “a bit of sparring, no one took the gloves off, and I didn’t learn very much”.

“There’s no policy. One was talking about an electricity policy that they’ve already declared ... and the other one didn’t put up any policy, just, ‘I will bring out the policies’,” he said.

— with Cameron England