Lights off: Part II

Although in its death throes in December 2010, the NSW Labor Government pushed through its notorious late night sell off that prompted mass resignations from the boards of corporations involved and is now the subject of an Upper House inquiry.

TRU energy paid $2.035 billion for retailer Energy Australia, the right to trade the output generated by Delta West and access to three development sites (Mt Piper extension and two of the Marulan development sites).

Origin Energy bought smaller retailers Integral Energy and Country Energy and the electricity trading rights for Eraring Energy for $3.25 billion.

The next phase involves the output from Macquarie Generation and Delta’s Central Coast power stations being sold early this year.

Roozendaal conceded that although the sale is worth $5.3 billion the proceeds have to pay for the $2.3 billion Cobbora Coal Mine, which the private sector demanded so the sale would go ahead. It is designed to prop up the “currently state owned” power generators whose electricity trading rights were sold.

It was reported that

“…one of the big risks was the issue of liquidated damages payable by the companies if they failed to supply the required amount of electricity when it was demanded by the traders, sometimes with less than one day’s notice. By one estimate the damages could amount to $200 million over the life of the 30 year contract for a single generator.”