Victorian Liberals claim state will ‘never rebuild’ if power bills are hiked

There are grim predictions one state may “never recover” if the energy crisis suffocating Australia is not urgently addressed.

The Victorian Opposition has claimed the state will “never recover” from pandemic-induced woes if power bills continue to hike.

Shadow Treasurer David Davis made the bold claims on Wednesday morning as Victorians prepare for bill increases of almost 20 per cent over coming weeks.

He said Premier Daniel Andrews’ current plans would result in “higher bills for less reliable power”.

“For years, Daniel Andrews has failed to act to shore up Victoria’s energy supplies and Victorians are now left paying the price,” he said.

“Victoria will never recover and rebuild if we can’t even keep the lights on and power bills low.”

Liberal MP David Davis has slammed the state government’s energy policies. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling

However, the state government has insisted Victoria has sufficient energy supply and has no plans to change its transition to renewable energy, despite the ongoing crisis.

Transport Minister Jacinta Allan said while there’s “undoubtedly pressure” on the state’s supply, it’s a similar situation across the world.

“We should remember though that we are in the midst of a global energy crisis,” she said.

“The global market is experiencing instability with the consequences of the war in Eastern Europe and other factors.”

Ms Allen added despite the state’s permanent ban on coal seam gas exploration, Victoria has enough energy to function.

“The advice from AEMO is that Victoria has adequate power supply,” she said.

Wholesale power and gas prices in Australia have surged due to a perfect storm of international and domestic factors.

The state government has insisted Victoria has sufficient energy supply and has no plans to change its transition to renewable energy, despite the ongoing crisis.

The war in Ukraine has led to a global gas shortage, prompting Australia to rely on its ageing coal-fired power stations – at least 25 per cent of which are offline due to scheduled or unscheduled outages.

Australian Energy Regulator chair Clare Savage has refuted claims the price cap is to blame for generators choosing to withhold energy from the grid.

She said she would be meeting with generators on Wednesday to encourage them to bid into the market if they could.

“If generators have supply available, they need to be bidding it into the market,” Ms Savage told ABC Radio.

“They will receive the $300, which is the price cap, and if they have costs in excess of that, they will be recovered.”