Electricity generation—Reserve capacity price 51. Hon Rod Caddies to the Leader of the House representing the Minister for Energy and Decarbonisation : I refer to the recent change to the benchmark re

AnsweredQoN 51Legislative Council
Asked
25 February 2026
Portfolio
Energy and Decarbonisation

QuestionView source ↗

Electricity generation—Reserve capacity price
51. Hon Rod Caddies to
the Leader of the House representing the
Minister for Energy and Decarbonisation :
I refer to the
recent change to the benchmark reserve capacity price for electricity
generators.
(1) If batteries plus renewables are cheaper than
coal-fired power as part of a diverse energy mix, can the minister explain why
reserve capacity prices are expected to double?
(2) Noting the minister claims that renewables
plus gas plus storage is the cheapest option, can the minister explain what
other options she is comparing this to?
(3) Can the minister confirm that taxpayers will
end up absorbing the cost of the energy transition, which will achieve a
possible 0.08% reduction in global emissions?
The President: That is also seeking a fair amount of
information.

AnswerView source ↗

Thanks, President. I
thank the honourable member for some notice of the question.
(1)–(3) A renewable energy system backed
by storage and gas represents the lowest cost energy mix compared to the cost
of alternative capacity mixes, including coal and gas. Reserve capacity price
changes reflect the changing balance of costs with more low-cost renewables
entering the energy system.

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