Owners of Diamantina Power Station APA Group has called the proposed CopperString transmission project in north Queensland "a 40-year electricity tax on mums and dads".
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The attack comes in APA's submission to the Queensland government's consultation on electricity supply options for the North West Minerals Province which canvassed views on three options, business as usual, the private proposal to build CopperString 2.0, and building the project through the government's own Powerlink.
APA group executive, strategic and commercial, Julian Peck says in a letter accompanying their submission said if CopperString 2.0 was approved it would create a 40-year electricity tax on mums and dads and then leave a $1 billion taxpayer debt behind while providing no material reduction in energy costs for the region.
Mr Peck said the only way the 1100-kilometre power transmission line, which plans to connect Mount Isa with national grid at Townsville, could deliver power to miners at the proposed prices is to "smear" more than a quarter of the costs across all Queensland power users.
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He cited third-party analysis from consultancy Oakley Greenwood.which said it could mean a yearly increase in electricity bills for large customers of $57,000.
APA also said CuString's proposed $90 a megawatt-hour pricing was "highly improbable", saying it would be more like $150/MWh.
The Queensland government options paper assumes a NWMP electricity price in the NWPS of $140/MWh whereas large customers in the NEM typically incur electricity costs of $74-93/MWh.
APA said in its submission the government's "greater renewable penetration" would lead to prices of $76-82/MWh in the medium term.
APA said it had "superior alternatives" for lowering the cost and improving the sustainability of electricity supply in the Mount Isa region with the planned Mica Creek solar farm feeding into local network which includes Diamantina Power and the Carpentaria pipeline between Mount Isa and Ballera.
Mr Peck said the Powerlink proposal to deliver the connection under the regulated asset framework would also be $244m cheaper than CopperString and he was concerned developers CuString wanted derogations to shift investment risk to taxpayers.
CuString Pty say the CopperString project is "game-changing" and would boost the national income by $45 billion. It has signed an implementation agreement with the Queensland government.
Just this week they signed an agreement with technology company HyperOne in a deal that aims to connect North Queensland in the digital and energy fields The deal hopes to take advantage of CopperString's proposed 1000km open access high voltage transmission network and HyperOne's new 20,000km hyperscale digital backbone across Australia.
Bob Katter, who is related to Copperstring owners John and Joseph O'Brien has repeatedly called on the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund to finance the project which is heading towards financial close this year.
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Derek Barry
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
Editor of the North West Star Mount Isa since January 2016. Prior to that, an editor at several regional southern Queensland newspapers. Passionate about telling local stories. Comes with a strange accent to due an Irish accident of birth.
