Cost of green electricity driving Aussies off the grid

Posted: Jul 30, 2017

When greenies get their way, poor people suffer. Global warming hysteria tends to be an affliction of the affluent, who don’t have to worry about where their next meal is coming from or how they will keep the lights on at night. But for those lacking the leisure to hypothesize a crisis that keeps getting stuck on pause, the costs of green energy can wreck lives. It is happening in Australia, in the State of Queensland, ironcally rich in coal deposits: The Sunday Mail of Brisbane explains in an editorial: TODAY’S confronting revelation that more than 464 Queenslanders a week are having their electricity disconnected because of soaring power prices is a wake-up call to the Labor Party. (snip) Labor’s zealotry on renewable energy targets is sending the country broke. (snip) It comes as we also reveal that the Adani coal mine project will proceed with $400 million to be pumped into the project over the next few months, creating hundreds of jobs. This at a time when unemployment is at double-digit levels in north Queensland. With a Queensland state election looming – the likely date being late October or early November – cost-of-living pressures are emerging as a major poll issue. In fact, power prices could emerge as the biggest single issue. (snip) Latest official figures from the Australian Energy Regulator show a 55 per cent leap in the number of households that had their power cut off in the three months to March. With more than 18,000 disconnections in the first nine months, the 2016-17 total is set to easily top last year’s 21,667. And in a further indication of consumers’ struggle, the number of Queensland customers entering formal payment plans with their providers has soared by a third to 42,361. Payment plans allow consumers to pay agreed amounts in instalments – according to their capacity and estimated usage over the coming year – to make it easier to budget. Welfare specialists say people are doing it incredibly tough around cost-of-living pressures. Mark Henley, CEO of Queensland Council of Social Service, says energy is “the one that is really hurting people’’. Of course, it’s the regions that once again are hit hardest. The air-conditioning costs in north Queensland are onerous because of the heat. Queensland is subtropical to tropical in climate. People need their airconditioning. If the Queensland elections turn into a referendum on green energy policies, the results could be historic. ;