A NEW body with a direct line to the Queensland Cabinet has been established to tackle the issue of agricultural electricity costs.
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The Agricultural Energy Council (AEC) was announced in Bundaberg yesterday and will be made up of high profile representatives from key agriculture groups with an aim of having direct input into electricity policy.
The council will include representatives from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; the Department of Energy and Water Supply; AgForce; the Queensland Farmers’ Federation (QFF) and other key industry groups such as the Queensland Dairyfarmers Organisation, Growcom and Canegrowers.
It will report to the Agriculture Cabinet Committee.
A government members' Agricultural Energy Working Group will also have major input into the council and is planned to complement the AEC.
The AEC will look at specific issues including metering, the development of energy efficiency initiatives and financing, tariff reform, opportunities that may arise from future competition in the electricity market, the potential for renewable energy, and participation in the national regulatory process.
Agriculture Minister John McVeigh and Energy Minister Mark McArdle signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the government, QFF and AgForce.
QFF chief executive Dan Galligan has taken on the role of chairman of the council, welcoming its formation.
“Action is urgently needed to make Queensland’s electricity prices more competitive nationally and internationally, otherwise growth will stall and there will be real, long-term impacts on regional communities and economies,” Mr Galligan said.
“Farmers are feeling these impacts now and it is imperative for this new council to start work immediately with State government departments and electricity providers Ergon and Energex on developing solutions.
“It is just the start of the process, but the State government is to be congratulated on demonstrating that it understands the massive impact of high electricity prices on the farm sector, and in particular the State’s intensive farming industries.”
He said farm groups had been advocating for such an initiative for a while but now that it was in place, his gaze was fixed.
“I am driven by getting results out of this energy council. We have to find solutions,” Mr Galligan said.
“There is no doubt it is going to be really difficult but we’ve got to go hard and fast to find these solutions across the spectrum and eventually get to more strategic solutions problems about the overall cost of energy, and all energy solutions.”
Electricity price determination and pricing structure were some of the main issues growers are concerned about, according to Mr Galligan.
“It is about bolstering the view from the farm sector because effectively pricing determinations are done on residential impacts so we really need to look at this from a farming and productivity perspective as well,” he said.
Mr McArdle said it was satisfying to finally have the council formed.
“I think it’s a matter that’s taken some time to get here but I think the time spent in the past was well spent because now we understand more fulsomely what the issues are and more importantly, the vehicle to stop them,” he said.
“The commitment and the resolve is here to get long-term benefit for irrigators and farmers right across the State.”
Mr McVeigh said reducing production costs is vital to achieving the LNP government’s goal of doubling agricultural production by 2040.
The AEC will meet again in the New Year and then regularly throughout 2015.
