The Queensland opposition is warning that planned mergers in the energy sector could hurt the ability to respond quickly to natural disasters.
Queensland Liberal National Party leader Lawrence Springborg says the planned mergers of state-owned power generators and distributors could lead to the loss of hundreds of jobs and the closure of some depots.
"It will mean that service standards are going to drop, (and) that also there's going to be a closure of depots around Queensland," he said.
"That will mean there will be less responsiveness when it comes to times of natural disaster or major electricity outages."
The warning comes as the state's southeast recovers from a deluge that left thousands without power, as well as five dead and chaos on the roads.
The opposition leader's comments also come as workers rally for their rights in Labour Day marches around the nation.
Mr Springborg launched an online petition on Sunday calling for Labor to deregulate the power market now, instead of holding off for at least 12 months.
He said the decision, rejected by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, would deny householders potential savings of hundreds of dollars.
The government's decision to merge state-owned coal-fired generators CS Energy and Stanwell, as well as distributors Energex, Ergon and Powerlink could cost up to 1500 jobs, Mr Springborg said.
He said the former government had worked hard when in power to reduce factors driving higher prices.
"What we have in this state is now a real serious position of stagnation, a government that doesn't have a plan, that's making it up as it goes," Mr Springborg said.
Energy Minister Mark Bailey said the Liberal National Party had embarked on a deliberate campaign to distress electricity workers.
Mr Bailey said Labor had promised no forced redundancies in the plan to merge Ergon Energy, Energex and Powerlink.
"The opposition leader and the LNP have no credibility when it comes to protecting jobs and Queensland workers," he said in a statement on Sunday.
"They sacked 24,000 staff across the public sector."
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