White paper warns of power price hit on households

NSW households would face electricity price rises of 13.35 per cent if a heavily polluting power station was closed, a federal government study has found.

The report, commissioned as part of the government's white paper on energy, which was released yesterday, said the sudden loss of the Loy Yang A power station in Victoria's Latrobe Valley would trigger a near-doubling of wholesale electricity prices with an immediate flow on to household power prices.

Wholesale power prices would surge by nearly 80 per cent in Victoria and by more than 45 per cent in NSW.

Launching the long-awaited policy paper, the Energy Minister, Martin Ferguson, also signalled the government has dumped an election promise to limit greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants.     Full Read