Labour/Greens power policy “crazy”

Stuff reports:

If Labour and the Greens imposed their proposed power policy Contact Energy would be forced into a complete restructure, chief executive Dennis Barnes says.

Speaking to The Press after the company’s annual meeting in Christchurch today, Barnes said the policy would require a structural change for Contact’s business and the electricity industry.

It would “change the face of Contact from a risk manager and a retailer to a business which has got the Government as its customer”, he said.

One customer who would unilaterally set the price. What could go wrong with that!

“The biggest change is that the Government then becomes responsible for security of supply development of the industry rather than the market; that’s a whole different dynamic.”

Blackouts is what California is on the verge on, due to similar policies.

During the meeting, a shareholder asked how likely it was that the Labour and the Greens might impose what Barnes described as a “crazy plan”.

Very crazy.