This is a recording of the Smart Energy Council webinar held on 1 December 2022 “Unaffordable power – why governments need to tackle monopoly network super profits” – brought to you by IEEFA

With the Australian government announcing it will take action to constrain gas companies’ ‘glut of greed’, it’s also time to tackle monopoly network super-profits and inflated prices to reduce electricity bills.

Coordinated government action is required to fix flaws in the current system for regulating monopoly electricity networks.

In doing so, power bills could be reduced a further $100 – $150 per customer per year for customers in ten of the twelve distribution networks in the national electricity market.

In this webinar, former New South Wales Treasury officer Simon Orme will cover:

– Findings of his recent IEEFA report on the impact of network regulation on power bills
– How networks have been able to set prices above costs to the tune of $800-$1200 over an eight-year period
– How returns can’t be explained by efficient performance and incentives
– How supernormal profits have hindered Australia’s necessary energy transition
– Steps the government could take to fix the issue

Thank you to our host Steve Blume, President, Smart Energy Council as well as our fantastic speakers Simon Orme – Director, Tahu Consulting, Johanna Bowyer – Lead Research Analyst, Australian Electricity, IEEFA and Tristan Edis – Director of Analysis and Advisory, Green Energy Markets.