Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Industry and Innovation) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Grogan. It's a very good question indeed, and I'm sure you didn't want to provoke those opposite, who sort of ping around on these questions, perhaps from embarrassment. If only we could have an embarrassment power electricity system. You're right, Senator Grogan. The Australian Energy Regulator has been very clear. Unreliable coal power stations drive electricity costs higher. Those old plants, 24 out of 28 of whom announced or brought forward their closures while those opposite were in government, who did nothing about it, shut down without warning, requiring the use of fast but expensive gas peaking power stations. Just yesterday, on one day, there were three gigawatts of unplanned coal power outages, making electricity more expensive for households and industry.

It's not just the Australian Energy Regulator. Rio Tinto has been clear that the coal power from AGL Bayswater is too expensive after 2028. That's why we are building new generation—15 gigawatts added to the grid since we were elected and 20 gigawatts in the pipeline. We are delivering hundreds of thousands of home batteries, which make bills cheaper for Australians and help support our grid.