Election showdown over privatisation of clean energy

NSW Labor will look to follow Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and start a state-owned clean energy corporation should it win the upcoming election.

NSW Labor will look to establish a state-owned clean energy corporation if it wins the state election in March, raising the spectre of an election showdown over the merits of privatisation.

The Australian understands the policy is likely to reflect the plan the party took to the 2019 state election under former opposition leader Michael Daley, which included using the state-owned corporation to deliver one gigawatt of renewable energy generation and energy storage projects.

Sources close to opposition energy and climate change spokesman Jihad Dib said he had confirmed he was working on a similar policy, with Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ State Electricity Commission successful announcement in October emboldening the aspiring NSW Labor government.

NSW Labor leader Chris Minns will look to follow Victorian counterpart Dan Andrews and establish a state-owned clean energy corporation.

After the government-owned electricity provider was privatised by former Liberal premier Jeff Kennett, Mr Andrews argued the decision to revive the SEC under 51 per cent public ownership was imperative to securing the state’s long-term energy security.

Labor leader Chris Minns has been highly critical of successive NSW Coalition governments’ sale of publicly owned assets over the past decade, declaring that Labor would bar privatisation if elected on March 25.

Mr Minns has been particularly scathing about the sale of the Vales Point and Eraring coal-fired power stations, claiming it has contributed to soaring energy prices over the past decade. But has previously dismissed the prospect of a NSW Labor government repurchasing privatised assets.

When asked by The Australian in October whether NSW Labor had intentions to establish a state-owned electricity company similar to the Victorian government’s announcement, Mr Minns responded: “We’re going to have more to say about that closer to the election.”

In response to questions about whether Labor intended to establish a state-owned clean energy corporation, a spokeswoman for Mr Minns did not rule out the prospect, instead saying successive NSW Coalition governments had fostered a “privatisation-fuelled energy crisis”.

“We are focusing on preparing a comprehensive plan to tackle the cost of living and soaring energy prices facing the people of NSW after 12 years of this Liberal government,” she said. “We will outline our plan closer to the election and in time for the people of NSW to decide who has the better plan for the future of NSW.”

If similar to the party’s 2019 clean energy platform, the policy would work to complement private sector activity in the energy market through the provision of reverse auctions to provide certainty for renewables projects.

The policy is still likely months away from being launched publicly, with some Labor sources suggesting it could be held on to until the election campaign.

Designed under former opposition climate change and energy spokesman Adam Searle, Labor’s policy was designed to establish a new existing state-owned corporation to invest in energy generation and storage, while meeting market gaps in storage dispatchability.

The broader policy used reverse auctions – a method used by several states, including NSW Energy Minister Matt Kean’s electricity infrastructure road map, whereby the government introduces a tendering process for purchasing clean energy from suppliers, underwriting supply.

A Labor source said if the private sector failed to act quickly, theoretically the state-owned corporation could expedite construction of generational storage.