‘Paying double the price of Brisbane’: Council slams power prices

The North-West Minerals Province will “never be compeitive” without CopperString according to the Mount Isa mayor, who says the region is seeing power bills twice the price of Brisbane’s.

APA's Sam Floriani with Mount Isa City Council Mayor Peta MacRae at APA's Dugald River Solar Farm

The Mount Isa mayor has claimed if CopperString isn’t built in full, the North-West Minerals Province will “never be compeitive” as the region continues to deal with power prices twice that of Brisbane.

Mayor Peta MacRae has made it no secret the Mount Isa City Council are desperate to see CopperString built so their town can connect to the national grid - and recent comments by APA’s CEO have not gone down well.

APA is the sole power supplier to Mount Isa and Cloncurry via the ‘North West Power System’ (NWPS) and their gas-fired power plant, solar farm, and generators currently enjoy a monopoly in the energy-hungry mining region.

On Monday, February 24, APA Group CEO Adam Watson told investors at a company earnings update the economics of CopperString were “horrendous” and made no sense.

“A project that was initially going to cost less than $2bn is close to $10bn, potentially taking a transmission line to a region that already has sufficient renewable power generation on site,” Mr Watson said.

“Going from Townsville to Mount Isa does not make a lot of sense.”

Adam Watson - Chief Executive Officer at APA Group

The reaction from CopperString supporters was swift - Robbie Katter slammed the APA as “shortsighted and greedy”, Flinders Shire mayor Kate Peddle said it was hardly surprising.

“As a competitor, it’s in his interest to kill a project that challenges their control of the market,” Mayor Peddle said.

Glencore CEO Gary Nagle also threw his support behind CopperString.

“High power costs have been the biggest barrier to growth for mining and manufacturing in North and North West Queensland,” Mr Nagle said.

“The investment case for CopperString is built on sustaining mining and mineral processing, which are critical.”

The latest figures estimate CopperString will cost $9bn to build - but the 1,100km high-voltage transmission line won’t just be carrying power out to Mount Isa, but also opening up a huge stretch of dirt to solar and wind farms.

Already several wind projects are in the pipeline for the Hughenden region and if all are built, they will be putting 9,700MW of power onto the CopperString line.

That is far more than the 454MW the APA is currently capable of generating.

Mount Isa City Council labelled the APA a “private owner of a monopolised energy market” that is charging its customers twice that of power prices in Brisbane.

Mount Isa City Council economic development officer Ross Thinee said he meets regularly with industry leaders who want to establish in Mount Isa.

“Recently I have had to warn prospective investors about our power prices here and it often breaks the deal,” Mr Thinee said.

“When you are paying double the price of Brisbane for the same product, it’s hard to stomach.”

These high power prices are mostly being experienced by large businesses, mines, and industrial sites.

Residential properties and small businesses are protected under a state government subsidy.

Mayor Peta MacRae at the roadmap launch on Friday, February 21.

APA defended themselves by pointing out household power bills were subsidised by the state and Mount Isa residents were not paying more than Brisbane.

“Residential electricity prices in Mount Isa are set by the Queensland Competition Authority,” an APA spokesperson said.

“APA believes there are more cost-effective ways than CopperString to deliver energy to Mount Isa – local renewables firmed by gas is the best solution.”

Townsville Enterprise CEO Claudia Brumme-Smith said “we must act now” to ensure the North West was connected to the NEM (National Electricity Market).

“CopperString is the missing link for North Queensland’s energy security and economic growth,” she said.

“This isn’t just about big players like Glencore. Miners, contractors, and manufacturers struggle daily with high power costs. Major copper projects worth billions are stalled near Cloncurry due to lack of electricity—it’s a crisis.

“One new copper mine alone could contribute $500m in royalties and taxes over 15 years while utilising CopperString. Queensland built its industrial economy through strategic infrastructure, and we must continue this legacy.”

APA Group's solar farm in Mount Isa. Picture: Supplied

The vast majority of the power in the Mount Isa region is produced by the APA’s 242MW Diamantina gas-fired plant which is connected to the Carpentaria Gas Pipeline via the East Coast Gas Grid.

Customers, such as Ergon and mine sites, are required to negotiate and purchase their own gas, and then pay the APA a fee to process that gas for them.

In 2024, APA also constructed and switched on a 88MW solar farm.

Ergon confirmed electricity prices in the regions were regulated by the Queensland Competition Authority (QCA).

“The Queensland Government subsidies the price regional Queenslanders pay for electricity to ensure it is on par with other parts of the state and they are not disadvantaged by the cost of supplying electricity to their location,” an Ergon spokesperson said.

“You pay the same for electricity in Mount Isa as you do in Mackay.”

In 2023-24, the Queensland Government spent $619m subsidising regional residential power bills.

Originally published as ‘Paying double the price of Brisbane’: Council slams power prices