On 29th February, Minister for Environment, Energy and Climate Action, Reece Whitby announced the successful passage of the Electricity Industry Amendment (Distributed Energy Resources) Bill 2023 through the WA Parliament. This amendment aims to compel decision-makers to consider environmental factors, including greenhouse gas emissions, alongside reliability and price when advancing the long-term interests of energy consumers in Western Australia.
While stability and affordability are crucial aspects of the State Energy Objective (SEO) for the energy system, the third aspect — reducing greenhouse gas emissions — is equally vital for sustainability and aligning with Australia’s climate goals.
However, the current wording of subsection (3) of the SEO allows flexibility in weighing these three aspects. This flexibility could lead to prioritising one aspect over the others. For example, if the argument is made that energy security primarily relies on the gas sector, it might override the objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t incentivise the renewable energy industry, which has heavily invested in greenhouse gas emission reduction technologies, providing quality and safe electricity supply. How long will the government keep supporting dying industries over renewables?
Adding environmental conservation and greenhouse gas reduction is commendable, but it remains unclear which specific environmental elements should be considered. Is the sole focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, or should other environmental factors also play a role?
Subsection 3 of the State Energy Objective must be tightened up to close these loopholes, and ensure that the Electricity Industry Amendment Bill operates in the best interests of energy consumers, and the environment.
ENDS
