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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-07-03 Daily Xml
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Electricity Interconnector

Mr ELLIS (Narungga) (14:50): My question is to the Minister for Energy and Mining. Will the minister update the house on how ElectraNet's project assessment draft report on interconnection fits in with the government's policy for interconnection with New South Wales?

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart—Minister for Energy and Mining) (14:50): Yes, member for Narungga, who I know is a very, very strong advocate for his community over there in Yorke Peninsula. A first-term MP, like many of our first-term MPs, he is very, very active in the community. We are lucky to have them on our team. It is a pleasure to say a few words about the ElectraNet draft RIT-T report (the Regulatory Investment Test—Transmission report) that they released on Friday last week. It is amazing that members of the opposition couldn't be found to comment on it.

The Hon. V.A. Chapman: Oh, really?

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: They couldn't be found. There are a few possible reasons for that: they might have been on holidays, might have been Friday—long lunches—or maybe it was good for South Australia. It was actually good news. It was good news first and foremost for the people of South Australia. This report made it very, very clear that an interconnector between South Australia and New South Wales would reduce the price of electricity to South Australians.

Guess what, Mr Speaker? Before the election, the then Liberal opposition said exactly the same thing. Before the election, the then Labor government said we were wrong. Now, after the election, we are in government and we still believe what we believed before the election. The opposition is actually not there anymore on this topic; they have scurried away on this topic. It is actually fantastic to receive this draft report.

Of course ElectraNet needs now to receive more feedback from the public and interested parties on this work that they've done. Of course they will come back—I think, in November, they will come back with their final report to confirm, or otherwise, but more than likely stick with the information that they have provided; that is, that a 330-kilovolt capacity interconnector running between the Robertstown district in South Australia and the Wagga district in New South Wales will reduce electricity prices for South Australians.

It will give us access to base load electricity from New South Wales if and when we need it. But probably more important for South Australia, it will allow us to export our often overabundant renewable energy from South Australia into New South Wales, and both South Australia and New South Wales welcome that. On Friday morning, I spoke with energy minister Harwin from New South Wales. He welcomed the report. He welcomed the fact that it would save, on average, a predicted $20 per year, per house in New South Wales. He and I both welcomed the fact that it would save on average $30 per year, per house in South Australia.

I do have to come clean on one thing. Before the election, in our modelling that we shared publicly with everybody who wanted to have a look at it, we said that an interconnector to New South Wales would cost each South Australian household, on average, $8 per year. That extra cost was going to be more than offset by savings in the wholesale price of electricity. We did say it would be $8 per year. I have to come clean: ElectraNet say it's going to be $9 per year. So we got that marginally wrong. That might mean that the $302 saving which we offered the people of South Australia before the election might be $301. We did say—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. D.C. VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Having shared that information and made that admission, let me tell you that we went to the election with an outstanding energy policy. It is now being supported by ElectraNet, by AEMO, by AER and the Energy Security Board, and we will deliver lower electricity prices for South Australia.

The SPEAKER: The minister's time has expired. The Leader of the Opposition.

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