Groom doing nothing to give households energy choice

Households will not enjoy the benefits of full retail competition under the Liberals, with Matthew Groom conceding he is doing nothing to provide households with a choice of energy retailer.

Before the election, Matthew Groom said retail competition “is the only policy reform option that can ensure the lowest possible power prices for Tasmanians over the longer term.”

Opposition Leader Bryan Green said Labor changed the legislation to allow for competition and attempted to sell Aurora’s customer base in order to incentivise additional retailers to enter the market.

“After nearly two years in government the Liberals have done nothing to stimulate real competition to put downward pressure on power prices,” Mr Green said.

“Today Matthew Groom said the Government was “not progressing” a sale and conceded that households did not have a choice of retailer.

“Pathetically, he said that the “threat of competition” was good enough.

“It is clear the Government is happy for Aurora to maintain its lucrative monopoly because it suits their agenda to use GBE profits to prop up their budget.

“That might be good for the Liberals, but it is bad for mums and dads who were promised lower power bills.
“In addition, the Minister has backed away from his support for higher feed-in tariffs for solar installations.

“Households are not getting what they were promised by this fraud of a Minister.”
Bryan Green MP Labor Leader