Power prices to rise if poles and wires build-out falters

Hostile communities and skills shortages threaten to derail the rollout of much-needed new energy transmission infrastructure, drive up power bills and make it harder for Australia to meet its emission reduction targets, business leaders say.

Energy giants say Australia’s goal for renewables to supply 82 per cent of electricity by 2030 required a “front-loading” of investment in poles, wires and pipelines that is increasingly at risk of cost and schedule blowouts as landowners and local stakeholders push back fiercely.