Victorians may foot bill for power http://www.theage.com.au/news/20001116/A52972-2000Nov15.html By ADRIAN ROLLINS STATE POLITICS REPORTER Thursday 16 November 2000 Hundreds of thousands of Victorians could be billed by an electricity company for costs it incurred as a result of industrial action. In an unprecedented move, AGL has sought permission from the state Regulator-General to charge its customers more than $800,000 to recoup the cost of industrial disruption last summer. If successful, the action could pave the way for future claims by power companies that suffer losses as a result of industrial action. AGL, with more than 250,000 household and small business customers, wants to recoup costs incurred last January and February when industrial action forced it to buy electricity from interstate at premium prices. Although its claim is relatively modest, a one-off charge of $3.29 per customer, three other power companies have not ruled out taking similar action. And concerns have been raised that, if the claim receives Regulator-General approval, households could be forced to carry the cost of future industrial disputes that disrupt the state's power supplies. AGL has based its claim on two instances last summer when a combination of high temperatures, generator breakdowns and industrial action sent Victoria's electricity system into crisis. The state was plunged into a series of load-shedding blackouts before the government instituted severe power restrictions lasting several days. At its most extreme, the crisis forced power companies to buy electricity from New South Wales at a premium of more than $5000 per megawatt hour. AGL said that it incurred heavy losses when forced to buy power at high cost in two separate half-hour periods, one on January 11 and the other on February 17. An AGL spokesman said the fact that the claim related to two brief periods highlighted the costs that could be incurred by industrial action lasting days or weeks. "What concerns us is that there still seems to be a great deal of industrial uncertainty in the LaTrobe Valley and, who knows, that (power restrictions of last summer) may happen again," he said. The spokesman said costs incurred by AGL as a result of industrial action affecting power generators should be passed on to consumers and AGL hoped its claim could act as a test case, setting a precedent for the electricity market when it was exposed to open competition next year. Three other power retailers - TXU, United Energy and CitiPower - said they would follow AGL's claim "very closely". Only Powercor has ruled out trying to recover costs incurred by last February's power crisis. A spokesman for Energy Minister Candy Broad said AGL's claim was a matter for the Regulator-General. Regulator-General John Tamblyn has called for "interested parties" to comment on AGL's claim before a final determination on December 15. -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Archived at http://www.cat.org.au/lists/leftlink/ Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
