Malcolm Turnbull approves radical NEG redesign in bid to prevent backbench revolt

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has approved a radical redesign of his flagship energy policy to put a priority on price cuts rather than climate change targets in a bid to prevent a backbench revolt that could threaten his leadership.

The drastic changes will make consumer prices a key factor in deciding the scale of future cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, removing one of the biggest obstacles to a Coalition consensus on the National Energy Guarantee.

The controversial target at the heart of the policy, a 26 per cent cut to emissions by 2030, will be set by ministerial regulation rather than being cemented in legislation to avoid forcing Liberals and Nationals MPs to vote for a climate change target they cannot support.

Read David Crowe’s story from The Age - “Malcolm Turnbull approves radical NEG redesign in bid to prevent backbench revolt.”

(The coalition's efforts to control Australia's carbon dioxide emissions, as insignificant as they were, have been formally extingushed - Robert McLean)

National Energy Guarantee will help cut power prices in most states and territories in the next decade, report finds

Households would save about $150 every year on their power bills under the Turnbull Government's flagship energy policy, a new report has found.

New research says the average household would
 make an additional saving of $150 under the NEG.

The research said the National Energy Guarantee (NEG) would help cut prices in most states and territories in the next decade.

Energy Ministers from across the country will decide the policy's fate at a crucial meeting on August 10 — a gathering that could end more than a decade of bickering over energy and climate change.

The average household would "save around $550 a year on their retail bill over the 2020s relative to 2017-18," the official report predicted.

Read the ABC News story - “National Energy Guarantee will help cut power prices in most states and territories in the next decade, report finds.”