The Hodgman Liberal Government’s Energy Strategy released today will once again make energy a competitive advantage for Tasmanians by driving investment, facilitating jobs and reducing cost pressures on households and business.
Tasmania has the potential for significant competitive advantage with our world class renewable energy resources but, under the former Labor-Green Government, that advantage was lost with households and small businesses being burdened with power prices that skyrocketed by 65 per cent in seven years.
Our Plan, the Tasmanian Energy Strategy – Restoring Tasmania’s Energy Advantage, is about redefining the way we use energy in Tasmania and ensuring that energy once again works for the benefit of the Tasmanian people.
We have already made significant progress.
Under the Hodgman Liberal Government spiralling electricity prices are now a thing of the past. Tasmanian households and small businesses pay 7.8 per cent less for their power today than they did when we came into Government.
Transmission prices will also fall next year as a result of the Australian Energy Regulator's recent pricing determination, reducing costs for a typical household by $24 a year and a typical small business by $41 a year.
We are working closely with our energy businesses to ensure they are managing their costs more prudently and are focused on delivering a higher quality customer service.
And we are working with the Coordinator-General to do more to utilise our energy as a strategic asset to attract new investment and jobs into the State.
But there is still more we can do and that is what the Energy Strategy is about. It is a 20 year vision for the future of energy that sets out a plan to:
The strategy includes a suite of actions that will deliver on the Government’s commitment to the Tasmanian people. These are real actions that will deliver real results.
New and innovative energy efficiency initiatives will be developed to assist with productivity improvements for businesses and put downward pressure on electricity prices for households, particularly vulnerable households.
Keeping an eye to the future will also be a priority, including positioning Tasmania to take further advantage of our significant renewable energy resources as the push for a lower emissions future becomes stronger.
The Tasmanian Energy Strategy was developed in close consultation with the community and it is focussed on delivering for the community.
There is a renewed sense of confidence emerging in Tasmania. This strategy is about facilitating that confidence through the delivery of a more efficient, price competitive, customer focused energy sector that is once again delivering advantage to all Tasmanians.
The strategy is available at http://www.stategrowth.tas.gov.au/energy/strategy