Kelly, I can tell you where it has left Queensland. We are now paying at least 50% above pre-privatisation prices. The government has no control on prices and we are looking at price increases in the order of 20% over the next 2 years.

The effect is not only on the household electricity bill. Consider the major grocery chains. The amount of power consumed in lighting and refrigeration is enormous. My local butcher's bill was in the order of $1000 per week prior to privatisation. I haven't dared to ask him what it is now. These additional cost on businesses will be paid by the Mum and Dad consumers.

My prediction is that we will suffer shortages and unreliable supplies of power as the private companies place profits ahead of infrastructure maintenance and development.

We are not immune from price rises in Victoria either. After a slick ad convinced me to change to TXU, before the next bill has even arrived, I find that the energy charge is to be increased by ten percent and the quarterly supply charge is going up by a whopping sixteen percent.

"Beware of Greeks bearing gifts"

David

It is the power supplier putting up the price, not the retailer.
Power core and city power have a $2 billion bill to cover for replacement infastructure.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=11452#194853

Sparkyq, too kind, prices went up 60% & a "price on carbon" will see us stuck with 200%, at least.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=11452#194854

VK3AUU, a mate of mine in QLD made a similar mistake, signing over to a new retailer, only to discover that there was an "exit fee" from the old retailer which was a lot more than the "saving", plus an even larger "exit fee" to escape from his new retailer.

Aahhh, the Closet Communist GAYLP, they say "fiscal conservative" but they do, $100 million a day.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=11452#194875

579, when will you ever learn?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lies,_damned_lies,_and_statistics

"the truth, the whole truth & nothing but the truth" is always the exact opposite of whatever the Red/green, getup, labour, Socialist Alliance says that it is.

Why would anyone of sound mind sell off an income earning asset? The answer is corruption.We now live in an oligarchy in which powerful corporate interests control our Govts.

Paul Keating sold off the Commonwealth Bank which used to create money from nothing to equal our increases in GDP and inflation.Now private banks create this new money as debt rather than a tax credit.

This is why we have no money for infrastructure or basic services.The convicts shackles of chains have now been replaced with shackles of debt.

Privatization is the way of society, not socialism. When a good stock of private retailers are in place, good competition happens and prices will fall.
Privatized power is working well in Vic; You can switch retailers anytime.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=11452#194930

Arjay, spot on mate, but i think it is even worse than that.

In the Closet Communist GAYLP, there are broadly speaking 2 factions, a corrupt right, who will take a "performance bonus" from anybody & the morally corrupt "inter" national socialists, who are deliberately, "with malice, aforethought" white anting our society, economy from within.

You get public/private infrastructure projects funded by debt from the macquarie bank, brokered by former GAYLP politicians. Several of them in NSW & VIC which were already failing, several years before they did the same trick on the Clem7 tunnel in Brisbane which is almost bankrupt now.

Privatisation of electricity supply in QLD is just one of many deliberate, premeditated, plans for failure that have been inflicted on us. Their own internal polling plus the 2010 federal election results show that they will be lucky to hold onto any more than 6 of their safest seats at the next QLD state election.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=11452#194940

579, privatisation is NOT the way of Australian society at all, Joh Petersen's government was corrupt, but nowhere near to the depravity of the GAYLP. He would never have sold any of the assets that captain Bligh has, or inflicted pokies on our poor people to financially, abuse their children.

Privatised power is NOT working well in Victoria. Can't you read.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=11452#194854

A Victorian called VK3AUU, complaining about a system that is NOT working.

The bushfire commission found most of the fires were started by faulty power lines, not arsonists.

You CAN'T switch retailers anytime.

A BAD stock of private retailers are in place, PSEUDO competition is already happening & prices are rising everywhere.

Denial is not a river in Egypt.

BTW, you also just directly contradicted your earlier comment, about suppliers putting up the price instead of retailers, a problem, for power, telecommunications & water supply in QLD.

And did not reply to my last comment on the voodoo economics article either, running out of answers are we?

The mainstream energy sector from top to bottom, government and private, lives in a whole separate reality - a reality where climate change is an annoying side issue intruding on their job of forever increasing supply at lowest cost, a reality where emissions reductions requirements can be got around by planning new coal fired plants that have the 'possibility' of retrofitted Carbon Capture without any requirement to actually fit that technology. When CCS fails to live up to expectations those plants will be considered essential, whereas emissions reductions can, again and endlessly, be put on the (high emissions) back burner.

The new private management of electricity supply will be ongoing opponents of serious emissions reductions and being directly part of the working economy, will have more influence over government policy than the voices of science and academia. Good planning for the profit making business of electricity supply is about maintaining profitability and emissions reduction imposes unwanted costs. So a growing, certain threat to future security and prosperity will continue to go unaddressed by anything but sound bites and badly compromised greenwash.

579 says:

"Privatization is the way of society, not socialism. When a good stock of private retailers are in place, good competition happens and prices will fall."

Can you give a single example where that has happened, 579?

Groceries? Woolworths has reported double-digit INCREASES in profits for the past eleven years. Is that evidence of competition?

Telecommunications? Ports? Banking? Airlines? Airports? Where?

Keating's National Competition Policy has resulted in LESS competition and higher prices.

Victorian power supply charge went up 11 cents / day and power charge went up 1.5 c/ kwh as of feb;
You will have to tell me why you can't switch any time you want to.
I do not dabble in voodoo.
The price rises are to pay for maint, costs, and they did come from the supplier, not retailer.
Belchin Joe was created by the residents of Qld, who could see no better. So i suppose they got what they created. A third world state.
What is meant by deliberate failure, I think you are reading toooo much Harry Potter.
So the man that used to be a sausage needs help.

Formersnag,there is a silent revolution germinating. See ' Secret of Oz' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U71-KsDArFM This award winning doco by Bill Still reveals the solutions to our debt crisis.The 'Wizard of Oz' (written in the 1890's Depression) by L Frank Baum had deep economic meaning for us all.

Be a part of this revolution and post it widely.

I wonder how many of the political elite, have made a killing in the share market after privatization?

Ms Tranter never mentions immigration and the $300,000 every immigrant who comes her owes NSW for the better life with modern services they are given for free. That State Governments wish to enslave existing citizens to pay for migrants' FREE-RIDE is understandable only from a political and power garnering point of view.

If Macquarie Street had any humanitarian inclinations at all in their immigration intent they would be charging immigrants due levies in order to maintain the standard of living of those of us who are HERE, as well as that of the migrants themselves. Thats Humanitarianism.

Immigration for power and money for the elite in government and their corporate mates is a crime that must surely be reckoned before too long & the power sale is JUST the vehicle that will bring that reckoning. The principle of the Second Law of Thermodynamics guarantees it! If you put a restricting tap on the States Main Entropy flow you WILL very abrubtly reach a THERMAl EQUILIBRIUM in the populace. Those who have even a small understanding of Thermodynamics KNOW what this means for NSW's future and will already be taking precautions

ITM what we get from all forms of Government in Australia is an addiction to GST revenues and political power from sheer numbers of migrants very voteworthy & grateful to Government and spiteful and counter-competitive to the Australian community.

And Ms Tranter's insightful analysis of the NSW 'Electricity Funnel', without reference to migrants who are forcing higher costs & lower standards is telling on her own motivation in all this.

Aha! so now we know the new trick the ALP have in store for New South Wales! I am Kellie and I am nothing to do with the ALP (Yeah right!) vote for me and I will give you everything your heart desires hahahaha! Except I am just a ALP plant the same as the "Independant" in Victoria in 1999 who got Jeff Kennett out.
This is the same nonsense as local elections where Labour put in 2 or 3 canditates who go in on seperate platforms but preference each other to just get the seat for the ALP.
If this works NSW deserve all they get but I think it is rich bordering on dishonest for Kellie to claim any independance! I have heard her on ABC radio, Labour through and through! So how many other ALP plants are going to be foisted on long suffering NSW?

Kellie has not even mentioned the real problem that is arriving.
First, I normally am not in favour of the government being in business.
However electricity is such an important utility and it is facing such
an uncertain future that the whole system from mine to street poles
should be a government responsibility.
With both world oil and coal depletion over the coming years, even the
future price of coal is very uncertain.
It is impossible for a business to look ahead and be able to know what
the conditions will be. Many financial people think they do but they
generally expect business as usual.

Well it won't be and we cannot afford for they to make mistakes.

http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=11452#194954

Arjay, thanks for that one mate, it's a beauty, i have heaps of similar links, some of which you may have already seen, i AM part of the silent revolution already & will be posting that one, widely along with all the others i have on file, but i am also now involved with several socio/political groups that want to see some improvements, in the land of OZ.

Through friends here, of non British decent i have found heaps of similar stuff from all over the world & post it on facebook to Aussies, Canadians, Yanks, Poms, you name it, got another one from Argentina the other day.

This is a small selection of my all time favourites.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1138597812890776821#

3 hours, but covers the "international bankster" history in detail.

http://www.angelfire.com/music2/fullcircle/mas2.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Weishaupt

These 2 show, who REALLY wrote "the communist manifesto" years before Marx published it, "in his name" & why, to stop the blue collar, working class, proletariat from "co-operating" with the white collar, middle class, proletariat as they had been, during the British civil war, French & American revolutions against the international banksters, royals, aristocrats, big catholic & anglican churches, big business, "divide & conquer" was the answer to all their problems.

That is why they also funded other Loony, Left theorists to come up with Fascism as well as Communism. Every Loony, Left, think tank or "Red/green" NGO, now or over the last several centuries was started by a tax deductible donation from the "super rich".

http://www.iamthewitness.com/DarylBradfordSmith_Rothschild.htm

Rothschild's only in timeline format.

http://www.prisonplanet.com/fox-admits-to-planting-political-brainwashing-in-popular-tv-shows.html

MSM + hollywood.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTahZE4q90U&feature=player_embedded

Left, Right out of politics by both sides.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ki4cqqMZ7JE&feature=player_embedded#!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gb039VYTnUI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtudNpL30BU&NR=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRLPG_HplrA&feature=related

NWO.

Arjay, I watched that link you gave and while long it was very interesting.
Watch what happens in the US in March when the US runs out of money.
The Debt clock is showing $T14,02 debt at present and they only have
$T14.7 authorised. So it will be interesting to watch.

We don't seem to have a limit, we just keep borrowing from China.

Arjay you are correct.

The NSW government can fund new power plants with credit. The price of the credit should reflect the risk of non repayment. This risk is near enough to zero. The people of NSW will pay back the credit from the sale of electricity. With interest free credit any renewable energy plant that costs less than $10,000 per continuous kw will make a profit at current wholesale prices of about 6 cents per kwh and the credit will be repaid within 20 years.

The argument for charging interest on government loans is that the money may get a higher return elsewhere. That is we have "lost opportunity cost". This is a load of nonsense for a service that we must have.

Renewable energy per continuous kw (which means the average output of a power plant over the course of a year) is about $16,000 for a small set of solar panels on a household roof, to $8,000 for large scale solar photovoltaics, to $4,000 for wind power, tidal, geothermal and solar thermal.

Renewables are profitable today at today's prices and can be built in NSW with interest free credit. The interest free credit can be given to the tax payers of NSW and they can use it to purchase debentures in power companies which will pay dividends (or cut the price of energy) as well as repay the loans from the prices currently being paid for energy.

Competition comes from having a variety of renewable energy projects in which the citizens of NSW can invest their interest free loans.

Australia is NOT a land of infinite opportunity, it is a land of harsh extremes.

The existing NSW power stations and grid infrastructure were gouged out of people's lives and pockets to build a better life for themselves.

I estimate the average cost per person in NSW is a minimum of $300,000 to provide adequate infrastructure for 1980's population levels. And that does not represent the individual hardships, equal to anything new migrants have faced in the turbulent years leading up to the 80's.

It was all worth it till Nick Greiner came along and INCORPORATED all that blood, sweat, tears and civil capital money into a political mandate to grow NSW's tax base by immigration. Since then, LABOR party bloody minded meanness has refined that concept:

Politicians form Carr onwards have increased migration and tax takes with no commensurable increase in any infrastructure. We still have the same police numbers that we had in the 70's and power stations are just as antiquated. They are utterly effete to handle the population that infrestructure was meant for plus the needs of mindless hordes of aspirational migrants on a FREE ticket to ride.

The ONLY remedy is to Make the migrants pay their $300,000 per person infrastructure fee to come to NSW, either upfront or as a special ongoing tax. Then to use those funds to buil comensurable infrastructure in NSW.

To make existing citizens of NSW pay for basic infrastructure all over again and for migrant peoples who would kick them in the street if they were down, is an INJUSTICE that will haunt Macqaurie street and its lofty inhabitants till JUSTICE is done.