Andrew Bolt's Blog, 2/7/18; Politics killed the system. The LNP's privatisation of power producers and deliverers under Howard and others has allowed for Gaming of the System ; Now Abbott's calling for Socialism to reverse what he supported and did but only of Coal;

 

  Power prices are higher because energy companies are gaming the rules says Grattan Institute

 “Federal and state politicians should be honest about the likelihood that higher wholesale price expectations are the new normal, and that intervention to keep ageing legacy assets is a poor long-term solution. Instead, governments should keep pressure on other parts of the electricity bill such as retail and networks.”
Green power is cheaper than dirty coal-powered electricity. If that's the case the average should drop but  " There is no silver bullet that will drastically reduce the cost – and price – of generating and delivering electricity,” the Grattan Institute report said.
It accused the energy industry of ‘gaming’ the system, creating artificial supply scarcity to drive up power prices."
 The fragmentation and privatisation turned the market into a profit-driven one rather than a service-driven one and now it's too big for any government to buy back and rationalise for the betterment of all Australians.