21 December 2014

, Minister for Energy

Making Energy a Competitive Advantage Again

The draft Tasmanian Energy Strategy has been released today for public comment and consideration.

The Liberal Government is committed to once again making energy a competitive advantage for Tasmania by delivering the lowest possible power prices that are genuinely sustainable over the longer term.

To help achieve this objective we are developing Tasmania's first comprehensive energy strategy – one that takes a 20 year view of where energy is heading and how Tasmania can best place itself for advantage.

The Tasmanian Energy Strategy has a strong focus on practical actions under three broad themes:

• making energy work for people;
• reducing the cost of delivering energy; and
• positioning Tasmania for the future.

Priority actions under these themes will include:

• additional measures to ensure our State-owned energy businesses  are being run as efficiently as possible in order to put further downward pressure on electricity prices;
• developing new policies that support and facilitate improved energy efficiency for Tasmanian households and businesses;
• monitoring energy concession arrangements to ensure they continue to properly support the most vulnerable in our community;
• identifying new opportunities to better utilise Tasmania's energy investments to retain existing industry as well to attract new businesses and industry to the State; and
• positioning Tasmania to take further advantage of our significant renewable energy resources, including investigating the case for a second Bass Strait interconnector and the expansion of Tasmanian hydro generation output by 10 per cent.

Under the previous Labor government, power prices increased by more than 65 per cent over seven years. Under the new Liberal Government, Tasmanians have enjoyed lower power prices with prices falling by 7.8% or approximately $164 per year for a typical household. The Government is determined to do even more to put downward pressure on prices.

The draft Tasmanian Energy Strategy is the result of extensive consultation and input from a broad cross-section of consumers as well as the energy businesses, the Energy Working Group and other stakeholders.

We accept this won't be easy, but we are firmly committed to working with all levels of Government, industry and the broader community to once again make energy an advantage for Tasmanians.

I invite the community and interested stakeholders to read the strategy at www.stategrowth.tas.gov.au/energy/strategy

Submissions and comments should be provided by 15 February 2015.

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