General News
18 December, 2025
Tehan hits out at surging energy costs
MEMBER for Wannon Dan Tehan has hit out at the Federal Government after a new report showed a short-term fall in energy prices before a long-term rise occurs.
Mr Tehan said the recent Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) Residential Electricity Price Trends 2025 report, highlights “the mess that the part-time Climate Change and Energy Minister (Chris Bowen) is making with our energy transmission”.
The AEMC claims electricity prices will fall five per cent over the next five years before increasing 13 per cent in the subsequent five years.
Mr Tehan said the AEMC report was “based on more fantasy than fact”.
“It’s finding that prices will fall based on a drastic build out of new wind and solar generation yet it is clear that this will not occur,” he said.
“The Victorian Auditor General released a report showing that Victoria’s goal of having two gigawatts of offshore wind by 2032 will simply not occur.
“Similarly, the recent AEMO Transition Plan for System Security report indicated the sheer incompetence of the renewable rollout means transition is delayed.
“The AEMC report assumes that coal generation will cease as originally planned – yet state governments in eastern Australia are extending the life of existing coal generators.”
Mr Tehan questioned how AEMC could justify a 13 per cent increase in electricity prices in five years’ time, when Labor says Australia’s electricity will be 82 per cent renewable, when Mr Bowen has said renewables are the cheapest form of energy.
“The report does not factor in the delays and the cost blow outs which are occurring with the construction of new transmission lines and new wind and solar capacity,” he said.
“Last year the AEMC report forecast that electricity prices would fall by 13 per cent over the next ten years.
“Instead, in the last 12 months to October alone they have risen 37 per cent.
“The AEMC report models assumptions based on Labor’s policies rather than factual data grounded in reality.”