Dear Tony Abbott – can you please stop lying about the RET

Solar Business

Dear Prime Minister

I don’t like to publicly criticize leaders but I am compelled to take you to task.

Can you please stop lying about the Renewable Energy Target?

I was appalled to hear your completely incorrect and deceptive comments on ABC AM this morning about the RET.

In your interview on two separate occasions you incorrectly stated that:

•  “the RET is “very significantly” driving up power prices” and
• “the RET is a very significant impact on higher power prices“

This is absolutely not true and modelling commissioned by your own government shows this to be the case.

Indeed, your own Minister Greg Hunt was forced to acknowledge this not long ago when he was interviewed on ABC television; also acknowledging that the RET is only a  few percent of the average power bill.

Copious modelling and analysis has been conducted which shows the make up of a typical electricity bill in Australia, demonstrating that what you said today is deceptive and it is not the first time you have made such claims.

The Government’s Australian Energy Market Commission Report from 2013 shows very clearly that your statements are not true. In fact, what this data shows is that the smallest component of electricity bills is energy efficiency schemes, followed closely by the SRES and then the LRET.  I have attached a graph below which is an excerpt form the data in the report.

Out of the nine components that make up an average electricity bill, the RET are respectively, the second and third SMALLEST components of a bill and in the case of the SRES, it is already declining to a smaller amount.

This being the case I find your comments deceptive, misleading and completely unjustifiable. With so much attention on the RET I feel confident that you and your staff would be well aware of these facts and as such this is a deliberate and abominable lie designed to mislead the public on this very important issue.

Further, modelling by ACIL Allen, commissioned by your department , demonstrates that the removal of the RET is most likely to INCREASE the price of electricity.  

The public deserves to be told the concise truth on this issue and most certainly should reasonably expect you to represent facts.

On behalf of the tens of thousands of solar workers and almost 5 Million Australians who support solar power and the RET, I insist on an unreserved public apology and correction.

Source: Solar Business Services. Reproduced with permission.