Power Prices

Mr PATTERSON (Morphett) (14:51): My question is to the Premier. Does the Premier have a plan to reduce power bills for South Australians and, if so, what is that plan? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr PATTERSON: The Australian Energy Regulator's latest draft default market offer shows that since Labor came to office, the power bills of a South Australian household that has the default market offer have increased by up to $804.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:52): I am glad that the opposition is so concerned for the 6.8 per cent of South Australians on the default market offer. The opposition has been very vocal in claiming that South Australia has the highest energy prices in the country. According to the default market offer that has been released, the draft one, that's simply not accurate. However, because of Project EnergyConnect—the brainchild of the shadow energy minister—soon we can connect and levelise our prices with the highest cost jurisdiction in the country. Isn't that a work of genius by the member opposite? Pure genius.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: I remember when we were in opposition they were claiming falsely that we opposed Project EnergyConnect and now they are yelling out, 'It was your idea!' Which one is it?

If you read the draft DMO, the DMO in South Australia has seen a relatively small increase in comparison to other jurisdictions. For example, in New South Wales—as opposed to our increase of 5.1 per cent, which is a 2.7 per cent increase on the real—the Ausgrid increase is 8.8 per cent; Endeavour in New South Wales is 7.8 per cent; Essential in New South Wales is 8 per cent; and Energex in Queensland is 5.8 per cent. You are seeing wholesale prices in South Australia drop, but what you have seen is a dramatic increase—

Mr Patterson: Not over a calendar year, no—up by 27 per cent.

The SPEAKER: The member for Morphett, you have asked your question; please listen to the answer.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: What members opposite would do is they would ask ESCOSA to do price determinations to calculate—rather than do a calendar year or financial year, they would say, 'Do it up to November,' to try to cherrypick these numbers to try to show larger decreases. It was the only time that I knew of that an energy minister sent a request through to ESCOSA to change the way that they do their price determinations. It was remarkable. He is smiling; he knows all about it—a big smile on his face.

Members opposite who claim that the National Electricity Market is controlled by state jurisdictions simply do not understand how the market works. I go back to the original proposition that the state government has had from the very beginning: we believe the way to get prices down in this state is to see the penetration of more and more renewables and storage. It has the added benefit of decarbonising our electricity grid and at the same time allowing for more storage because storing renewable energy is the best way possible of lowering power prices.

The unfortunate aspect of this is that you need gas deferment, and of course gas is what is setting the price, and gas is very, very expensive. Fossil fuels are actually pushing up prices. And what has caused gas prices to increase? Things like banning gas extraction in unconventional means in the South-East. The members opposite still to this day defend their gas bans. I note that the shadow minister goes out—

Mr Telfer: The stroke of a pen is all it will take from you—just the stroke of a pen.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: It's not the stroke of a pen, it's legislation.

Mr Telfer: Go for it. Put the legislation in.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: It's good to hear the shadow treasurer say he would support lifting of the unconventional fracking gas ban in the South-East. That is an interesting new policy announcement by the member for Flinders.