Smelter requesting for concessions on RET

The coalition over Renewable Energy Target (RET) faces new pressure as one of the aluminium smelters warns of sacking their workers without making any major changes to employee scheme. A key regulator has even warned that it is hitting the consumers with unnecessary costs.

During the RET review panel’s discussion session, the NSW IPART said that renewable energy is relatively costlier in comparison to the proposed emission reduction fund in the Coalition as well as the existing carbon price.

The RET made an addition of 107 dollars to a typical electricity bill in 2013-14 in NSW, but “these costs are unnecessary and avoidable if the same amount of emissions ¬reduction can be achieved through less expensive means,” IPART chairman Peter Boxall says in the submission.

It comes as the Bell Bay aluminium smelter in Tasmania warns they will be forced to cut down the number of workers unless trade-exposed manufacturers are given a full exemption from imposts of the scheme.

The owners of Pacific Aluminium said yesterday that the first smelter in southern hemisphere, in north of Tasmania had lost a sum of $48m to pay for extra energy under RET since its inception in 2001.

Ray Mostgl, the general manager of Bell Bay Aluminium, said the aluminium industry in Australia already faced “unprecedented challenges to its immediate ¬viability” related to low prices of aluminium and high Australian dollar.