Staff writers
The Andrews Labor government will bring back the State Electricity Commission and establish an office in Morwell if it is re-elected at the November election.
Victorian Labor made the promise this morning stating it would put the state’s energy sector back into public ownership.
It wants to revive the SEC as an active energy market participant to build new renewable energy projects.
Under the plan, the government will hold a controlling interest in each project as renewables replace coal.
The promise also includes an emissions reduction target of between 75 and 80 per cent by 2035, and bring forward a net zero emissions target by five years to 2045.
Premier Daniel Andrews said the plan would bring power back into the hands of Victorians “by creating government-owned energy, keeping bills down and the lights on”.
“Big energy companies want to offshore profits – we want to offshore wind. Renewable energy is the future,” Mr Andrews said.
“It’s good for our climate, good for lower power bills and good for jobs.”
Labor will initially invest $1 billion towards 4.5 gigawatts of renewables, the equivalent replacement capacity of Loy Yang A.
The state will have a controlling interest, with the balance of funding invested from like-minded entities such as industry super funds.
The new SEC will be active in the energy market under a 10-year plan to deliver renewables with all profits invested back into the network.
The government will spend $20 million to prepare the SEC for its new role including setting up an office in Morwell.
The government has outlined that the plan would deliver $9.5 billion in profits and support 59,000 jobs to 2035.
