CS Energy will defend a class action lodged by a law firm and funded by corporate backers.
CS Energy Chief Executive Officer Andrew Bills said CS Energy rejected the claims being made and said the company operated in strict accordance with, and took very seriously, its obligations with all rules and regulations in the National Electricity Market.
“CS Energy is strongly committed to complying with all market rules and regulations and we’ve dedicated substantial resources to ensuring we meet our obligations,” Mr Bills said.
“Our bidding activity is regulated under the National Electricity Law and the National Electricity Rules by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER).
“We have one of the most highly regulated and competitive electricity markets in the world, with prices set every five minutes.”
The AER investigates and publicly reports on the causes of all high-price events in the wholesale electricity market.
Previous investigations have found high wholesale prices to be due to a wide range of influencing factors, including extreme weather fluctuations.
Queenslanders should question who will benefit from a claim like this – is it Queenslanders or a litigation funder whose main interest is making a return on their investment in class actions?
As a Queensland-based and publicly owned Queensland business, the proposed class action is pursuing the revenues that we return to the state which are used to fund important services for all Queenslanders.
Mr Bills said CS Energy owned two of the most efficient coal-fired power stations in the country, providing affordable and reliable baseload power to millions of Queensland businesses and residents.
“We have a proud track record of delivering increased competition and savings for electricity consumers in South East Queensland through our joint venture with Alinta Energy, as reported by the Australian Energy Market Commission.”
Publicly available data shows that Queensland has had the lowest average wholesale electricity prices in the National Electricity Market for the past three years.