The national energy market is an abject failure – it's time for a publicly owned grid

The Greens’ proposal for a publicly owned electricity retailer is the latest to emerge from across the political spectrum arguing for renewed public intervention.

 The best way to ensure prices are as low as possible is to
 shift to a publicly owned national grid, replacing the current
 patchwork of private and state networks. 

The Queensland Labor government has committed to the establishment of a publicly owned renewable electricity generator, to be called CleanCo. At the federal level, the Labor leader, Bill Shorten, has repeatedly stated that electricity privatisation was a mistake. The LNP government is still committed to the Snowy 2.0 hydro scheme, while the climate denialist faction wants public money for a new coal-fired power station.

This renewed appetite for public ownership is accompanied by general recognition that the national electricity market has been a complete failure. As I discuss in my contribution to a new book, Wrong Way, How Privatisation and Economic Reform Backfire, microeconomic reform has failed in every part of the electricity supply system.

Read the opinion piece from The Guardian by John Quiggin - “The national energy market is an abject failure – it's time for a publicly owned grid.”