‘The sun doesn’t send a bill — but taxpayers still cop them’

John Rolfe explains the other “energy transition” — the one in which the enormous cost of a new system is increasingly borne by some taxpayers rather than all electricity users through bills.

No-one in their right mind wants the world to burn to a crisp.

Many, including me, think a wealthy country such as Australia is in a position to set an example in reducing emissions.

However, it seems reasonable to expect that our federal government might be honest about what the full likely cost will be, particularly when it comes to the energy “transition”.

That isn’t happening.

Until recently, in most cases when a new power asset was thought to be required, the private sector put in a plan and a price, which was assessed by a regulator.

Billions in blowouts and rebates reveal the true cost of Australia’s energy shift is being quietly shifted onto taxpayers. Picture: AFP

If the asset was deemed to be needed, for instance by providing a net benefit, then a fair cost was approved and the expense was recouped by a long-term addition to bills.

So the system paid its own way.

However, as bills rose and climate change policy became increasingly controversial, governments started shifting power costs away from bills and onto taxpayers.

The move began in 2017 with Malcolm Turnbull’s Snowy 2.0, first forecast to cost $2 billion, now expected to run to $12bn.

Last year, the Centre for Independent Studies said $29bn worth of subsidies had been paid to renewable producers over a decade.

Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen says ‘the sun doesn’t send a bill’. Picture: NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

More recently, Labor began pumping $2.3bn into increasing renewables storage in the power system by offering big rebates on home batteries.

You can’t replace an existing system with a new one without putting up prices – unless you shift the extra cost to taxpayers.

That is what is happening. The government isn’t being upfront about it. Instead, Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen says “the sun doesn’t send a bill.”

Actually it does – addressed to taxpayers.

Originally published as ‘The sun doesn’t send a bill — but taxpayers still cop them’