The COAG Energy Council has decided to undertake further design work on the National Energy Guarantee. As part of the agreement, the Energy Security Board (ESB) will further develop the design details of the National Energy Guarantee and report back to the COAG Energy Council by April 2018.
As ESB modelling undertaken by Frontier Economics shows, wholesale electricity prices are forecast to drop by 23 per cent, while the savings to households will be in the order of $400 per year in the decade from 2020 to 2030 under the National Energy Guarantee and new generation.
In a statement by the Federal Government, large energy users will also greatly benefit from the Guarantee. For example, a chemical factory could see a reduction in its energy bills of around $1.4 million per year and a paper manufacturer around $10 million per year.
As a technology neutral policy, the Guarantee is also expected to drive the right investment and reduce emissions without subsidies, taxes or trading schemes.
The Guarantee builds on the wide range of energy policy initiatives already undertaken by the Federal Government, including an agreement with retailers to offer millions of Australian consumers a better deal, legislation to stop the networks gaming the system and delivering more gas for Australians before it’s shipped offshore. These initiatives, together with a record investment in energy storage, including Snowy 2.0, will help drive a more affordable and reliable system.