Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Action Lily D’Ambrosio have announced a re-elected Labor Government will set a renewable energy target of 95 per cent by 2035. We love to see it.
The election promise also includes an emissions reduction target of 75-80 per cent by 2035, and net-zero emissions by 2045 — five years earlier than planned.
Andrews said the government would spend at least $20 million to bring back the State Electricity Commission (SEC), which will be in charge of building new renewable energy projects. Some of the money will be used to open an office in Morwell in the Latrobe Valley.
There’s also a plan to invest $1 billion to deliver 4.5 gigawatts of power through renewable energy projects. Noice.
In case your Victorian electricity lore is not up to scratch, the SEC was first set up in 1918 when the government appointed “electricity commissioners” to produce and distribute electricity throughout the state. It’s all in the name, really.
When the SEC was government-owned, it was Victoria’s main power supplier and distributor. But then the Liberals privatised it in the 1990s, and it was divvied up and sold to companies.
“We’ll bring power back into the hands of Victorians by creating government-owned energy – keeping bills down and the lights on,” Andrews said in a press release.
Cheaper power bills? Ka-ching. A nice little bonus amid the cost of living crisis.
The government said all SEC profits would be re-invested into the distribution network under a 10-year plan.
“Those power stations won’t be for profit, they’ll be for people,” Andrews said, per the ABC.
“They’ll be, not owned by a private company, they’ll be owned by everyone and everyone will benefit from that.”
The premier also said all these new projects will replace the output of Victoria’s biggest coal-fired power station, Loy Yang A, which is set to close in 2035. Smell ya later!
The Victorian election is set to take place on Saturday, November 26, with Daniel Andrews going head-to-head against Coalition leader Matthew Guy. Make your vote count, sweeties.
