NEM price may fall, and new plant entry slow: COAG agrees to mandatory energy efficiency rules (NEET)

First 23 of 23 paragraphs shown The chart above shows the range impact on wholesale NEM pool price, if the new NEET policy - agreed to by COAG 2 July 2009 - had begun in 2004. The national Australian Consumer Law, based on existing consumer protection provisions and new product safety regulation and enforcement.
27th meeting in Darwin on 2 July 2009: The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) held its 27th meeting in Darwin on 2 July 2009 COAG and endorsed a series of reforms. One was mandatory energy efficiency rules (NEET).
2004 scenarios: In 2004 the impact on electricity price was analysed bt MMA (see above).
Final COAG agreement: After ten years of resistance, successive summer and winter price spikes and blackouts had finally driven COAG to agree to national rules on energy efficiency. This - in theory - could lead to a fall in wholesale price.
Price-fall quantified by MMA in 2004: The Ministerial Council on Energy had commissioned a paper from Mclennan Magasanik Associates (MMA) Impact Of Energy Efficiency.
Programs On Energy Markets to model the impacts of NEET on electricity and gas markets determine benefits from:
—avoided investment in electricity generation plants;
—avoided gas and electricity network upgrades;
—avoided fuel, capital and maintenance costs;
—abatement of greenhouse gases;
—reduced peak electricity prices; and
—improved reliability.
2 July agreement: COAG Ministers agreed to:
- an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) to underpin the establishment of national Australian Consumer Law, based on existing consumer protection provisions and new product safety regulation and enforcement regime, and
- a further IGA covering national business names registration, which will result in lower costs of registering a business COAG also agreed to amendments in the Implementation Plan for the Seamless National Economy National Partnership as well as agreeing that the COAG Reform Council will in future report on the progress of three new items on the BRCWG agenda.
2004 scenarios:
- NEET of 0.5per cent;
- NEET of 1per cent, flat over all hours;
- NEET of 1per cent, energy efficiency sculpted to reflect usage ;
- NEET of 1.5per cent with a slow ramp up rate; and
- NEET of 1.5per cent with a quick ramp up rate.

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