OPINION: Mining’s Take on Australia’s Energy Future

Not having an energy policy is hurting re-election chances, so says one of mining’s biggest companies. Rio Tinto’s energy CEO has shared that leaving the entire energy industry up in the air is hurting the whole country.

One of the more prominent issues the New South Wales region is facing is gas shortages, which could come as soon as 2016. Rio Tinto, along with other mining and manufacturing companies, are asking for a clear plan that outlines how to keep cost down, and keep a supply available.

NSW is facing gas shortages as early as 2016, and the mining and manufacturing sectors are demanding a clear action plan to keep costs down and reliable supply running.

“We demand it – and woe betide the government that fails to guarantee us that 24 hour supply at the lowest possible price,” said Harry Kenyon-Slaney, Rio Tinto energy CEO. “In modern democracies, very few failures can bring political retribution from an angry electorate as swiftly as a failure of the power supply.”

Competitively-priced energy was something that the economy in Australia was built on, and Kenyon-Slaney believes that the country is moving farther and farther away from that being a reality.

“...the challenge is to bring the competitiveness back,” he said.

“There are lots of fragmented policies in place across state and federal regulations, there’s an energy White Paper that is under consideration, and I think that’s a great opportunity to harmonise those policy frameworks and particularly to align them with an approach on climate change.”

Information sourced from Business Insider Australia.