Power companies' power bad for consumers and clean energy

Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Senator Christine Milne, said:

"Three big companies having effective control over the vast bulk of both power generation and retail in the country can only be a bad thing for both consumers and clean energy producers.

"An efficient, 100% renewable energy grid will keep power bills down, create jobs and protect the climate, but it won't necessarily serve the interests of the existing big players in the market. That's why I've asked the ACCC to look into their market power.

"Just like the Coles and Woolworths duopoly, I am very concerned that big power companies can potentially abuse their power to not only block the roll out of renewable energy and energy efficiency, but also drive up power prices to increase their own profit margins.

"The biggest barriers to rolling out cheaper clean energy are the way the current energy grid is managed, the electricity market rules, and the way that the big gentailers are manipulating the system to benefit old polluting energy at the cost of both clean, renewable alternatives and of cheaper power prices for consumers."

Senator Milne's letter to the ACCC and the ACCC's reply are linked below.