Iemma leads NSW on merry dance over base load power needs

Commenting on a story in today’s Sydney Morning Herald (page 11), Dr Kaye said: “The justification for the Owen Inquiry has been shot down in flames.

“The Iemma government has fiddled the evidence to imply that this state needs new base load capacity.

“Clearly politics has won out over economics.

“The Iemma government justified the Owen inquiry by wilfully misinterpreting the evidence provided by the national electricity market regulator, the National Electricity Market Management Company (NEMMCO).

“The Owen Inquiry terms of reference are predicated on NEMMCO’s statement implying the need for new base load capacity.

“The CEO of NEMMCO makes it quite clear in his submission to the Owen Inquiry that their ‘Statement of Opportunities’ Report does not suggest that new base load plant is needed in NSW.

“Indeed NEMMCO’s Dr Spalding points out that any shortfall in capacity could be met by improved demand side management. This would produce no greenhouse gas emissions and be much cheaper.

“This is a scandal. Premier Iemma and his Energy Minister Ian Macdonald are trying to make the people of NSW waste money on new base load capacity when it is not needed. They would lock this state into increased greenhouse gas emissions.

“It is time for the Iemma government to start planning for a twenty first century energy system in a greenhouse constrained world, instead of trying to rerun the 1980s,” Dr Kaye said.

Dr Spalding’s submissions says “It may be uneconomic to meet this additional capacity requirement with baseload plants. …The additional capacity could be delivered by reduced demand in the form of demand side participation as described in chapter 3 of the SOO [Statement of Opportunities Report]”