GDF SUEZ Australian Energy

GDF SUEZ Australian Energy is a subsidiary of GDF SUEZ Energy International. GDF SUEZ Australian Energy has interests in coal, gas and renewable power stations in Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia. Through Simply Energy the company is an energy retailer in Victoria and South Australia.

Corporate background
International Power Australia (IPRA) was a subsidiary of the UK headquartered International Power. In August 2010 International Power announced a tie-up with GDF Suez via a reverse takeover whereby GDF Suez transferred its Energy International Business Areas (outside Europe) and certain assets in the UK and Turkey to International Power in exchange for 70% of the stock of the combined entity. The remaining 30% remained in the ownership of the existing International Power shareholders. The combination was completed on 3 February 2011 following approval by shareholders. On 16 April 2012, GDF Suez announced the purchase of the remaining 30% of International Power and the transaction closed in July 2012.

Coal-fired power stations
GDF SUEZ Australian Energy has interests in:


 * the Hazelwood power station, in which it has a 92% interest. The power station is located near Morwell and in 2010 it was estimated to have emitted 15.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2e).


 * the Loy Yang B power station, which is jointly owned by a consortium of International Power plc (70%) and Mitsui & Co. Ltd (30%) which trades as International Power Mitsui (IPM). The power station is located near Traralgon and in 2010 it was estimated to have emitted 9.66 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2e);

Lobbying on Carbon Pricing
In the 2009 annual report of the global company, International Power's Chief Executive Officer, Philip Cox wrote that "climate change continued to dominate the 2009 political debate in Australia, but how and when carbon dioxide (CO2) legislation will be enacted is still uncertain. This is clearly very important for the power generation sector, given that some 80% of Australia’s electricity is generated by coal-fired plants, which are on average relatively high in CO2 emissions. However, coal-fired power generation provides Australia with enormous benefits, both in terms of cheap electricity – as measured by international standards – and in terms of security of supply, given Australia’s vast indigenous reserves of black and brown coal. The debate is centred on how the environmental, economic and social dimensions of this subject can be reconciled. We remain very actively engaged at both state and federal government levels. Given the uncertainty in the market, we are not forward contracted post July 2011, which is the provisional date for the introduction of a CO2 trading scheme. Within this market context, we were pleased to conclude the restructuring of the non-recourse project debt at our Hazelwood brown coal-fired plant in early 2010."

In the body of the annual report the company noted that the federal government's proposed emissions trading scheme targets were for 5% on the 2000 baseline with a potential to be increased to 25% subject to caveats including the conclusion of a global agreement on cutting global emissions. The company identified that the proposed scheme would have little short term effect due to generous compensation provisions which would insulate the biggest emitters from a carbon prices for a decade. "The legislation proposed that the scheme would be introduced from July 2011 with a period of ten years where, in effect, no charge will be applied for a portion of emissions from coal-fired power plants, and our Hazelwood and Loy Yang B plants would be eligible for this relief. The scheme also included a fixed price for carbon, of A$10/tonne, for the first year of the scheme. This proposed legislation has been approved by the lower House but rejected by the Senate in December 2009. It is expected to be tabled again in May/June 2010 in the Senate, though agreement between the two main political parties looks unlikely at this juncture," the company stated. (The proposed scheme was subsequently put on hold by the Australian government).

Handout from carbon tax package
GDF SUEZ Australian Energy received $265,887,649.47 of the $1 billion cash payments given out in 2011/12 to the operators of the most polluting coal-fired power stations. The cash was paid from the Energy Security Fund which was established as a part of the carbon tax legislation passed in 2011.

Lobby group affiliations of International Power Australia and its subsidiaries

 * Business Council of Australia
 * Minerals Council of Australia
 * National Generators Forum, member. (International Power Australia's Executive Director, Tony Concannon, is a leading member of the forum.
 * Energy Supply Association of Australia

Personnel
Key IPRA staff include
 * Tony Concannon, Executive Director Australia
 * Ko Miyazaki, Deputy Regional Managing Director (IPM Assets)
 * Graeme York, Hazelwood
 * Steve Rieniets, Loy Yang B
 * Jim Kouts, IPRA Group Manager, Corporate Affairs

Contact details
Head Office International Power Australia Pty Ltd Level 37, Rialto North Tower 525 Collins Street Melbourne Victoria 3000 Australia Tel: +61 (0)3 9617 8400 Fax: +61 (0)3 9617 8401 Website: http://www.ipplc.com.au/

Related SourceWatch Articles

 * Key decision makers on coal in Victoria
 * Researching coal in Victoria
 * Victoria and coal


 * Australia and coal
 * Carbon Capture and Storage in Australia
 * New South Wales and coal
 * Queensland and coal

International Power Australia submissions

 * International Power Australia, Submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Primary Industries and Resources Inquiry into the Draft Offshore Petroleum Amendment (Greenhouse Gas Storage) Bill, House of Representatives, July 16, 2008.

International Power presentations

 * Andrew Sinclair, "International Power's CCS Initiatives", Presentation to the Coal Research Forum, June 20, 2007. (This has a detailed overview of the 'Hazelwood 2030' program).