The Queensland government has defended its state-owned power generators after the federal energy minister accused them of "gaming the system".
Josh Frydenberg says consumers paid 30 per cent more for their average wholesale electricity prices in the first five months of 2017 than other parts of the country.
"Since 2014 in Queensland, the price of wholesale electricity has gone above $5000 per megawatt hour some 30 times," Mr Frydenberg told ABC Radio on Monday.
"Why in Queensland when you've got state-owned utilities and generators, why are you paying so much for your electricity?"
Mr Frydenberg alleged they were holding back supply and then bidding in "artificially high prices" just before electricity prices were set.
But Queensland Energy Minister Mark Bailey disputed there was any such practice going on.
"They were not gaming the system," he told ABC Radio.
Mr Bailey said the national regulator investigated and confirmed the wholesale price increase was "due to increased demand and the impacts of the heat wave".
The minister did contact government-owned energy providers this year to instruct them to find ways to reduce wholesale electricity prices, but has repeatedly denied they were gouging.
He insisted the state Labor government had intervened to "slash" the proposed price hike by more than half to keep it at three per cent.
"It's considerably cheaper than other states," Mr Bailey said.
Queensland Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls said in addition to households, the agriculture sector was facing double-digit increases to power bills.
Mr Nicholls on Monday announced his Liberal National Party would partner with farmers to re-establish an Agriculture Energy and Water Council if elected to government.
"The LNP set up the Council in late 2014 as many farmers faced the prospect of electricity prices doubling in 2020 when the obsolete tariffs ended," he said.
"Labor axed the Council when it came to government but we will bring it back and make it bigger and better should we be elected."
Mr Bailey and Mr Frydenberg are set to hash out their differences at the National Energy Summit in Toowoomba on Wednesday.
Share
