Hazelwood closure drives jump in household electricity prices in Eastern Australia, by Matt Chambers.

Coal-fired Hazelwood Power Station in Victoria was closed in March 2016

The government-owned Snowy Hydro has lifted this year’s household electricity bills by more than 10 per cent as part of a sector-wide surge in prices driven by the closure of the Hazelwood brown-coal power station and renewable energy schemes. …

Grattan Institute energy director Tony Wood said: “What you are seeing now in Victoria is the flowthrough of the Hazelwood closure, which has been the biggest contributor of higher wholesale prices, which are up from about $50 per megawatt hour to $80 in the past year.” …

Retailers say the sector-wide price rises have been spurred by the abrupt closure last March of Hazelwood in Victoria, as well its impact on wholesale prices, and the Renewable Energy Target and Victorian renewable scheme.

So unnecessary. The bureaucrats throughout the West refused to do due diligence on the carbon dioxide theory of global warming. It’s been left to a few unpaid bloggers instead. Fortunately we found the answers, though it took a few years. The climate models all omit an important factor, dating back to the 1960s. The theory is a bust, and Hazelwood should still be operating. Book coming.