The five things we can't answer about the National Energy Guarantee

The National Energy Guarantee will face one of its last major tests in August, yet despite nearly a year of development, there are still a number of unanswered questions.

Will the policy work?

The Energy Security Board, which includes the main energy regulators, has spent the past eight months coming up with a scheme it says will reduce power prices, bolster grid stability and meet a "pro-rata" reduction in carbon emissions in line with Australia's Paris climate pledges.

The board thinks it has created a scheme that will meet its goals without generating a carbon price that would be political Kryptonite to the Coalition party room. Others think a shadow price will soon emerge.

The refusal of the board to release the modelling that spits out the stated results - such as helping to cut household prices by $550 a year over the decade starting from 2021 - undermines confidence the guarantee will work as projected.

Read the story from The Age by Cole Latimer and Peter Hannam - “The five things we can't answer about the National Energy Guarantee.”