By Andrew Bolt ~
Background:
This 53 year old coal fired power plant in Victoria closed at the end of March, and I made a comprehensive and detailed Post on that subject, showing that in its last 31 days of operation this one plant delivered 15% more power across those 31 day than EVERY wind plant in Australia added together, and that is detailed at this link. That Hazelwood plant, as old as it was, still generated more than 20% of the State of Victoria’s total electrical power requirements, power that now has to be sourced from elsewhere, and that closure has also placed stress on the remaining ten coal fired Units in that State…..TonyfromOz.
Victorian State Premier Dan Andrews a year ago said closing the giant Hazelwood coal-fired generator would hit electricity bills by about “4 per cent or 85 cents a week”.
Hazelwood Power Plant – 8th March 2017. Image Credit David Maddison.
That was always utter bull, given Hazelwood generated about 20 per cent of Victoria’s electricity, and among its cheapest.
But Andrews helped to drive that station out of business to allegedly save us from the hyped dangers of global warming. And now the real costs starts to be emerge:
Victorian households face a huge $470 jump in their electricity and gas bills.
The Sunday Herald Sun can exclusively reveal the state’s third largest energy retailer — Energy Australia — is rolling out significant price jumps in 2018 that will push electricity bills up by 14.9 per cent and gas bills by 13.5 per cent.
From January 2 the average residential customer will be slugged an extra $278 a year for electricity, pushing their annual bill to $2134…
The surge in electricity charges has been blamed on the steep climb in wholesale energy prices — electricity bought by retailers on behalf of customers — and the closure of coal-fired power stations including Hazelwood.
Energy Australia’s chief customer officer Kim Clarke said wholesale electricity prices have risen about 55 per cent since the start of the year…
The closure of Hazelwood isn’t just costing us much more in electricity prices. Without the coal-fired power, generators have had to burn more gas – just when it’s scarce and costing a bomb. The rise in gas prices is in part a consequence, too.
Then there’s the rising danger of power shortages, along with the cost of gimcrack solutions:
Diesel generators will be hooked up to Victoria’s energy network in the coming weeks as part of a last-ditch effort to keep the lights on this summer…
They will provide up to 100 megawatts of electricity if required, enough to power an estimated 40,000 households during peak periods.
The Australian Energy Market Operator has secured the extra diesel generation as part of a widescale effort to shore up Victoria and South Australia’s energy supply, amid warnings of potential shortfalls after the closure of the Hazelwood coal-fired power station.
Worst-case scenario forecasts show homes could face having their power cut in extreme weather during summer.
This is so scandalous. So brainless. With shiny-bright eyes, we march off a cliff,
And yesterday the voters of Northcote demanded even more of the same:
The Greens have won their third Victorian lower house seat, defeating Labor in Northcote, a seat the ALP has held for almost a century…
Victorian Greens leader Samantha Ratnam said the victory showed voters cared about climate change action…
Meanwhile, to our north China rises. By century’s end we may be begging it for economic help.
Andrew Bolt writes for the Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph, and The Advertiser and runs Australia’s most-read political blog. On week nights he hosts The Bolt Report on Sky News at 7pm and his Macquarie Radio show at 8pm with Steve Price.
Read more excellent articles from Andrew Bolt’s Blog . http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/