Investor News

Power price hike threat to local jobs

Geelong-based Winchester ammunition is yet another business to report that its power bill has more than doubled.

The below article from the Geelong Advertiser ($) earlier this week provides a local case study on the fallout from failed energy policy.

Key points:

  • New power contract adds an extra $14,000 per month to their electricity cost
  • The increased cost of gas is blamed for the bulk of the rise in wholesale electricity costs
  • Electricity costs double compared to their parent company in the USA

Is it the end of the road for Winchester? Not quite, but it's reaching the point where it becomes cheaper to import rather than manufacture locally.

This highlights one of the crucial failures in planning - balancing energy and climate policy.

As climate policy focused on subsidising the deployment of otherwise uncommercial Wind and solar power capacity in an effort to support their development and reduce our nation's CO2 intensity, energy policy failed to cater for the increased demand for gas needed to provide backup. Add in a couple of coal plant closures and increased gas exports, and you have a perfect storm on the demand side.

On the supply-side, resource policy has resulted in constraints on gas exploration, which means that declining gas production from Bass Strait is going to exacerbate the problem.

Naturally, we advocate a balanced approach that seeks to deliver reliable and affordable gas and electricity while working to reduce emissions intensity at the least cost.

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Winchester ammunitions finance director Simon Murphy. Picture: Peter Ristevski

Moolap ammunition maker Winchester Australia sees 217 per cent rise in monthly energy bill in a year

6 March 2018 | Geelong Advertiser | Harrison Tippet

A MOOLAP manufacturer says Australia’s surging energy prices have left businesses at the mercy of providers — in some cases tripling rates.

Source: Moolap ammunition maker Winchester Australia sees 217 per cent rise in monthly energy bill in a year | Geelong Advertiser