Australia has gone from some of the lowest electricity prices in the world to some of the highest and a good number of people are hurting
With election season upon us the political commentary on electricity prices is about to dial up to 11. Why? Firstly, because in the last 15 years Australia has gone from some of the lowest electricity prices in the world to some of the highest and a good number of people are hurting. Secondly, in the 2013 election Tony Abbott played us for a fool on electricity prices and it has been a key part of the Coalition election playbook ever since.
Between 2007 and 2013 electricity network companies spent about $50bn upgrading our poles and wires. That $50bn had to be paid for and it was by us, as consumers. According to the Productivity Commission this resulted in electricity prices rising by 70% over the five years to 2013. The voting public was well aware of the price hike, while being almost completely unaware of its causes. This allowed then opposition leader Tony Abbott to talk his way into the top job partly on the back of a scare campaign against carbon pricing and renewable energy.
Continue reading...from The Guardian http://bit.ly/2Hqdxjc
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