NSW election: Labor’s Chris Minns backflip on energy policy with plans to buy Eraring power station

Chris Minns, the leader of NSW Labour, has risked a serious rift within his party by hinting at the possibility of buying back Australia’s largest coal-fired power station to shore up the state’s energy supply and cut electricity bills.

Australia’s energy market operator warned last week that the east coast could face blackouts as renewable power generation and gas are unlikely to keep up with demand for the next few years.

Despite the looming threat of lights out, coupled with skyrocketing retail energy costs, governments have been reluctant to pour money into the fossil fuel industry for fear of backlash from green voters.

But Mr Minns appears to be positioning Labor for a major backlash on energy policy ahead of the March 25 election.

The opposition leader said a government he led could seek to take control of the Eraring power plant in Lake Macquarie, which is set to close in 2025, seven years ahead of schedule.

“I will not allow NSW to run out of power and I will not rule out (purchasing Eraring),” he told 2GB’s Ben Fordham.

“It could be a negotiation between the government and a private company and I recognize that I will make that public before the election.”

NSW Labor leader Chris Minns (pictured left with his wife Anna) has risked a serious rift with his party by hinting at the possibility of buying back Eraring coal-fired power station if he wins the state election

Mr Minns said Eraring supplies 25 per cent of NSW’s electricity needs.

“If it’s taken offline and the consolidating force isn’t there, we could have big bottlenecks,” he said.

When its owner Origin Energy announced last year it would close in 2025, NSW Energy Minister Matt Kean said he was disappointed with the decision.

He promised the state would build what he described as “the largest battery in the southern hemisphere” to make up for lost power generation.

But after the coalition sold the facility in 2013, it attempted to buy it back in 2021 for almost five times the asking price.

“This power plant was sold for $50 million, Matt Kean tried to buy it back for $240 million,” Mr. Minns said.

“If you sell critical infrastructure that the state needs, it undermines the industry, the economy and the budget in the long term.”

The Eraring power station (pictured) is due to close in 2025 but NSW Labor leader Chris Minns hasn’t ruled out the state buying it back to keep it open

NSW Labor leader Chris Minns (pictured on 2GB) said: “If you sell critical infrastructure that the state needs, it undermines the industry, the economy and fiscal positions in the long run.”

The Labor leader’s comments came after Mr Kean said the coalition could step in if re-elected to keep eraring open beyond 2025 to ease shortages and rising prices.

But as Labor moved to a more coal-friendly view of electricity, the Liberals turned the other way and Mr Kean backtracked from what he had said hours earlier.

Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet, whose Liberal Party faces strong challenges from pro-teal candidates in several seats, said intervening to extend the lifespan of Eraring is “not part of our plans”.

“We have an energy roadmap that provides $32 billion in private sector investment to ensure we have a reliable and clean energy future over the long term. That’s our plan,’ he said.

The Premier added that he and Mr Kean were “completely on the same page” on the future of the power plant.

Mr Minns told Fordham that Australia’s energy market operator – the national regulator – “released a report last week indicating we need to be concerned about supply shortages in energy markets over the next 24 months”.

He said one of the reasons Labor is planning to set up an NSW Energy Security Corporation is because “we’re worried about those very things”.

“When the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing, we need to make sure we have distributable electricity for the people of NSW,” Mr Minns said.

“Right now that won’t happen because Matt Kean hasn’t done the work to ensure there is energy security within the network.

“I cannot rule out further action regarding Eraring.

The coalition has sold all five NSW coal-fired power stations since coming to power in 2011, while the previous Labor government sold utilities in NSW, but Mr Minns has ruled out any further privatization should Labor come to power.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet (right) said he and Energy Secretary Matt Kean (left) were “on the same page” on the future of Eraring power station.

In February he said: “Privatization doesn’t work. It was a disaster for NSW and it’s coming to an end under Labour.’

If Labor Eraring were to buy back it would be the opposite of privatization, it would mean the state regaining control of a previously privatized asset.

If the buyback were about almost anything other than a coal-fired power plant, it would have the support of the Labor and Green Left.

But it affects fossil fuels – and Mr Minns will have calculated that however many votes the changeover loses to the Greens and smaller parties, the decision will come back in spades in the seats Labor must win in western Sydney.

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk