http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-10/japan-nuclear-plan-to-save-tepco/4002972

Japan’s government will effectively nationalise TEPCO, the operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, as part of a $12 billion restructuring plan.

TEPCO is facing massive clean-up bills and compensation claims.

By injecting the funds into TEPCO to save it from bankruptcy, the Japanese government will also take a controlling stake in the operator of the Fukushima plant.

Announcing the plan, Japan’s industry minister, Yukio Edano, demanded that TEPCO rid itself of its secretive and complacent corporate culture.

The deal will also see TEPCO’s creditor banks extend fresh loans to the company and, effectively, the nationalisation one of the world’s largest utilities companies.

do you remember my assertion that all profit is private and all debt is public

heres a great example

The Northern Territory Government says average household utilities prices are set to rise by $225 a year because of the Federal Government’s carbon tax costs and an increase in the consumer price index.

Modelling released by Power and Water shows the average power bill will go up by $2.61 because of the carbon tax.

In addition, PowerWater’s annual CPI-linked electricity, water and sewerage cost will rise by 2.8%.

Combined, the two are forecast to increase the average household bill by $4.32 a week.

Territory Treasurer Delia Lawrie says the new costs will come into effect from July 1.

Ms Lawrie says the Commonwealth will be providing compensation through tax concessions to cover the carbon price increase.

the powerwater owes 1 billion dollars as far as i know – i wonder why they need to put power prices………..?

powerprices go up because powerproviders owe money to a lender PLUS interest.

>PLUS interest.

Slow down, Poindexter.

Are you stating that if a bank loans money to an individual or a corporation they will charge a fee for doing so?

The bastards!

sibeen said:

>PLUS interest.

Slow down, Poindexter.

Are you stating that if a bank loans money to an individual or a corporation they will charge a fee for doing so?

The bastards!

if a public company has to take loans because its management can’t run things on budget then thats a problem, if they have to keep taking huge loans to stop the wheels falling off the problem thats even more of a problem.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-27/spain27s-bankia-set-for-massive-bailout/4035522?section=business

Spain’s fourth-biggest bank Bankia says it is certain of securing the 19 billion euros ($24 billion) in state aid it is seeking in the largest bank bailout in the country’s history.

Bankia is considered key to the country’s financial system, and a failure would contaminate the entire banking sector.

The plight of Bankia – which holds some 10 per cent of the nation’s bank deposits – has added to the concerns over the massive debt crisis gripping Spain and the rest of the eurozone.

Bankia president Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri has sought to reassure investors and the public about the future of the struggling bank at a press conference called the day after it announced huge losses, and asked for a government rescue.

“I am certain that the Spanish state will obtain the financing so we will receive the 19 billion euros. That’s the commitment,” said Mr Goirigolzarri, adding that he expected to get the funds in July.

Mr Goirigolzarri has stressed that after the recapitalisation, Bankia would be “solid, efficient and profitable”.

The funding will be part of a recapitalisation plan which the bank’s board approved on Friday and is backed by the government and the Bank of Spain.

The Spanish government has already spent 4.5 billion euros on Bankia after the lender was partially nationalised earlier this month.

The new bailout will bring to 23.5 billion euros the total amount of the government’s rescue funding for the bank, which was formed in 2010 from a merger of seven troubled regional savings banks.

Bankia had to revise its 2011 results to show a net loss of 2.979 billion euros due to write-downs in its loan portfolio, instead of a net profit of 309 million euros.

Spanish banks are at the heart of market fears that Spain itself, the eurozone’s fourth-largest economy, could be forced to seek an international financial bailout.

Under the recapitalisation plan it approved Friday, Bankia’s parent group Banco Financiero de Ahorros (BFA) will ask Spain’s bank restructuring fund to subscribe to a capital increase of 19 billion euros.

Bankia will then launch a 12 billion euro capital hike which will be underwritten by BFA.

Wookie how many times do you have to be told… the bank bailouts are loans that the banks pay back with interest.

Witty Rejoinder said:

Wookie how many times do you have to be told… the bank bailouts are loans that the banks pay back with interest.

i like your optimism

you’ll find that money like this seems to get forgotten

Witty Rejoinder said:

Wookie how many times do you have to be told… the bank bailouts are loans that the banks pay back with interest.

so handing them all that money to people that clearly couldn’t manage it is a good idea???

as i said before

all profit is private , all debt is public

wookiemeister said:

you’ll find that money like this seems to get forgotten

Only in wookieworld do banks get off scott-free.

Companies pay tax, so your thesis is incorrect.

Witty Rejoinder said:

wookiemeister said:

you’ll find that money like this seems to get forgotten

Only in wookieworld do banks get off scott-free.

in wookieworld no one who couldn’t manage a bank would get 19 billion euros of state money

unfortuntaely sometimes you have let things fall instead of propping them up

it would be better to let a bank fall over and teach people valuable financial lessons

Dropbear said:

Companies pay tax, so your thesis is incorrect.

are these the same companies that can write their tax off??

kerry packer paid a dollar once i think

taxes are paid by those unable to reduce their tax by fair means or foul

The financial operators in Wookieworld wouldn’t have any money to bail out the banks, because they would have spent it all on a fleet of B52s.

also companies declare bankruptcy

then they don’t pay any tax

i knew one fellah in the ATO that spent a morning writing off hundreds of millions of tax owed to the ATO but was unable to claim it.

kerry packer paid a dollar once i think

kerry packer is not a company

everyone tries to minimise their tax.

Kingy said:

The financial operators in Wookieworld wouldn’t have any money to bail out the banks, because they would have spent it all on a fleet of B52s.

versus a million dollars on office plants

fire fighting equipment versus potplants

Dropbear said:

kerry packer paid a dollar once i think

kerry packer is not a company

everyone tries to minimise their tax.

right so kerry packer didn’t set himself up a company name???

A fleet of B52s on CAP would cost billions per month to run, let alone purchase and train pilots. There are only two airports in WA which could land them anyway.

Supply me with a fleet of Fireking choppers and I’ll reappraise my opinion.

wookiemeister said:

Dropbear said:

kerry packer paid a dollar once i think

kerry packer is not a company

everyone tries to minimise their tax.

right so kerry packer didn’t set himself up a company name???

PBS is not kerry packer.

Kerry Packer died 7 years ago, aged 68. Which is not very old.

Dropbear said:

wookiemeister said:

Dropbear said:

kerry packer paid a dollar once i think

kerry packer is not a company

everyone tries to minimise their tax.

the technicality doesn’t wash i’m afraid, you set up a company to reduce your exposure to tax, if it all goes wrong you get off scott free (if you do it right)

the more money you earn the less tax you pay proportionally. you are able to afford to lessen your exposure to tax once you have money.

right so kerry packer didn’t set himself up a company name???

PBS is not kerry packer.

Bubble Car said:

Kerry Packer died 7 years ago, aged 68. Which is not very old.

i wonder when gina rhinehart will go?

the technicality doesn’t wash

you set up a company to reduce your exposure to tax

when it goes wrong you can walk away and do it all over a again

Mind you there’s also a Perry Kacker:

>Perry Kacker is the director of a company called Mainly Magazines. This company has traditionally only published soup diet magazines but is now looking to expand into other areas.<

http://www.funnelwebinternet.com.au/userdir/bacmah/Webquest/webquest.htm

>>when it goes wrong you can walk away and do it all over a again<<

Yes…..and no. These days the directors get chased. Especially if there is any hint of mismanagement.

And you pretty much never get away with your second phoenix…..

TEPCO directors quit with ‘golden parachute’

Directors and auditors at the Japanese operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant have used the company’s annual general meeting to resign.

In theory, the TEPCO directors and auditors are doing so to take responsibility for last year’s disaster, but the ABC can confirm nearly half of those who have resigned will take up lucrative posts with other TEPCO group companies.

Some of the executives are also facing the biggest lawsuit in Japanese history – a $67 billion compensation claim from shareholders for what they describe as unforgivable negligence.

Outside the company’s meeting on Wednesday, activists – most of them middle-aged women – handed out anti-nuclear leaflets to shareholders making their way in.

Among them was Yui Kimura, who bought TEPCO shares so she could attend and vote at meetings.

She is one of 42 shareholders suing 27 company directors for failing to heed repeated warnings about the threat of a giant tsunami.

She is fighting for TEPCO to pay compensation for those affected by the Fukushima nuclear meltdowns.

About 100,000 Fukushima residents still cannot return home.

“TEPCO executives who operate dangerous nuclear plants should take responsibility if there’s an accident,” Ms Kimura said.

“So we are demanding these TEPCO executives pay compensation.”

TEPCO spokesman Yoshimi Hitosugi told the ABC he could not speak about the court case.

Audio: Listen to Mark Willacy’s report (PM)
Anti-nuclear activists and TEPCO shareholders say the company’s directors should not be given a “golden parachute” when they resign.

“This is unforgivable,” shareholder Yui Kimura said.

“They’re acting as if there was no accident. They should not take these golden parachutes.”

TEPCO shareholder Taro Shisido says he had to flee his home, just a few kilometres from the Fukushima nuclear plant, because of a nuclear meltdown.

“I feel TEPCO has deceived me,” he said.

“I have been an evacuee for more than 15 months.

“The only things living in my house in Fukushima now are rats.”

EMILY BOURKE: The Victorian and Federal Governments have come to terms over how to temporarily rescue hundreds of jobs at the Alcoa smelter near Geelong.

Alcoa announced in February it was reviewing the future of the unprofitable Port Henry smelter which employs around 600 workers.

The $40 million bailout was announced a short time ago and will allow the smelter to operate for a further two years.

Paul Howes is the federal secretary of the Australian Workers Union. He is speaking here to Alison Caldwell.

PAUL HOWES: Well, obviously I am very pleased about it because this is an action which will not only save hundreds of jobs at the Alcoa smelter in Geelong, it is an action which will guarantee that Australia can continue to produce aluminium.

What we are seeing at the moment is very abnormal and adverse market conditions for our aluminium sector.

http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2012/s3535652.htm

>it is an action which will guarantee that Australia can continue to produce aluminium.

scratches head

I wonder what it is they do at the Portland SMELTER?

40 million / 600 workers = 66,666 bailout for each employee.

I hope they are worth it.

Just think of the conniptions that would be going on if they produced ZINC.

Witty Rejoinder said:

40 million / 600 workers = 66,666 bailout for each employee.

I hope they are worth it.

High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a44dd0b2-834c-11e1-9f9a-00144feab49a.html#ixzz1zAfH82rB

Last updated:April 11, 2012 1:19 am

Alcoa shines with suprise $94m profit

By Ed Crooks

Alcoa, the world’s second-largest aluminium producer by market capitalisation, delivered good news with first-quarter results on Tuesday, reporting a $94m post-tax profit instead of the expected loss thanks to productivity gains and healthy demand in many markets.

The group also forecast continuing demand growth this year, with a particularly strong outlook for the aerospace sector, while warning that Europe remained “uncertain”.

now do you see neo

which pill do you want ?

the red one or the blue one?

wookiemeister said:

now do you see neo

which pill do you want ?

the red one or the blue one?

Pleasure and pain are like profit and gain don’t go mixing the reds along with the blues.

its hard being right all the time

Going to be a lot of it about. The govt is so freaked out by carbon tax job losses they will be bending over backwards to accommodate any company that even hints at carbon tax disruption to operations.

everything runs on oil/ carbon

take a look around right now and name one thing untouched by oil

carbon tax is GST v2.0

At the same time I get a letter from the electricity company that there will be price increases but they are not going to give a breakdown. I suspect a lot of otherwise unrelated and routine costs are going to be filed under Carbon tax and the govt has no real incentive to demand clarity.

Skunkworks said:

At the same time I get a letter from the electricity company that there will be price increases but they are not going to give a breakdown. I suspect a lot of otherwise unrelated and routine costs are going to be filed under Carbon tax and the govt has no real incentive to demand clarity.

what is the name of your electricity company

wookiemeister said:

Skunkworks said:

At the same time I get a letter from the electricity company that there will be price increases but they are not going to give a breakdown. I suspect a lot of otherwise unrelated and routine costs are going to be filed under Carbon tax and the govt has no real incentive to demand clarity.

what is the name of your electricity company

Origin

He he – TV news tonight, re Origin Energy and it’s spat with Mr Cant Do. “Mr Newman is in revolt against …” could be rephrased as “Mr Newman is revolting …”

as i’ve told people for some time now

the gov is deliberately trying to create an economic crash

if you keep handing out money

keep taking larger and larger loans

keep taking down industry

and basically giving a big fuck you to the working class then get ready for the crash

it doesn’t need to happen but the labor party hates the general population as much as the “liberals”

they are slashing education here and sending it to the third world

hopefully by the time the crash happens my debt will be low enough that they would not only have to create an economic crash but would risk civil war if they had a go at trying to take down the landed gentry of the country.

Skunkworks said:

wookiemeister said:

Skunkworks said:

At the same time I get a letter from the electricity company that there will be price increases but they are not going to give a breakdown. I suspect a lot of otherwise unrelated and routine costs are going to be filed under Carbon tax and the govt has no real incentive to demand clarity.

what is the name of your electricity company

Origin

Origin Energy Limited (“Origin”) has today executed a syndicated bank loan for A$2.3 billion and US$200 million together with an A$100 million bilateral bank guarantee facility.

http://www.originenergy.com.au/news/article/asxmedia-releases/1165

wookiemeister said:

Skunkworks said:

wookiemeister said:

what is the name of your electricity company

Origin

Origin Energy Limited (“Origin”) has today executed a syndicated bank loan for A$2.3 billion and US$200 million together with an A$100 million bilateral bank guarantee facility.

http://www.originenergy.com.au/news/article/asxmedia-releases/1165

now do you understand why power prices keep rising?

once i understood the basics i understood everything

wookiemeister said:

as i’ve told people for some time now

the gov is deliberately trying to create an economic crash

if you keep handing out money

keep taking larger and larger loans

keep taking down industry

and basically giving a big fuck you to the working class then get ready for the crash

it doesn’t need to happen but the labor party hates the general population as much as the “liberals”

they are slashing education here and sending it to the third world

hopefully by the time the crash happens my debt will be low enough that they would not only have to create an economic crash but would risk civil war if they had a go at trying to take down the landed gentry of the country.

That’s our Wookie!

*boom-tish *

Origin Energy Ltd will issue $2.3 billion in new shares in order to refinance some of the debt used for its recent acquisition of NSW electricity assets.

An entitlement offer will allow Origin shareholders to buy one new share for every five currently owned, at a purchase price of $13 per new share, a 17 per cent discount on the last traded price.

Origin shares were placed in a trading halt ahead of the announcement of the capital raising.
http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-business/origin-energy-to-get-23b-from-new-shares-20110315-1bux0.html

ok

so how do all those shareholders make profit if they don’t raise power prices?

Witty Rejoinder said:

wookiemeister said:

as i’ve told people for some time now

the gov is deliberately trying to create an economic crash

if you keep handing out money

keep taking larger and larger loans

keep taking down industry

and basically giving a big fuck you to the working class then get ready for the crash

it doesn’t need to happen but the labor party hates the general population as much as the “liberals”

they are slashing education here and sending it to the third world

hopefully by the time the crash happens my debt will be low enough that they would not only have to create an economic crash but would risk civil war if they had a go at trying to take down the landed gentry of the country.

That’s our Wookie!

*boom-tish *

well i was kind of the money with the GFC – i had already warned people in my musing in feb 2008 on sssf

i’ve been warning about the crash in no uncertain terms for at least 6 months now and i am convinced that they are trying to create a crash, it is by no mistake that all measures deemed necessary will be used.

you might have noticed that they decided to not buy any artillery for the army recently which means less capability in the event of an attack on our mineral resources by direct means.

anyway

resume your normal viewing

theres nothing you can do about it anyway.

thankfully i was able to get another job recently that at least pays me more and allows me to pay the taxes

>you might have noticed that they decided to not buy any artillery for the army recently which means less capability in the event of an attack on our mineral resources by direct means.

Not true.

They decided to buy a cheaper, non motorised version, which will save a bit of money. probably not the greatest of ideas, but there is no Beazley in this current Labour Government.

Can you name a date for when the crash happens Wookie?

You can’t just say it’s inevitable but not give a date.

wookiemeister said:

you might have noticed that they decided to not buy any artillery for the army recently which means less capability in the event of an attack on our mineral resources by direct means.

They’d be stuck on a base on the eastern seaboard thousands of miles away from the mineral resources with no means of getting up there.

sibeen said:

>you might have noticed that they decided to not buy any artillery for the army recently which means less capability in the event of an attack on our mineral resources by direct means.

Not true.

They decided to buy a cheaper, non motorised version, which will save a bit of money. probably not the greatest of ideas, but there is no Beazley in this current Labour Government.

maybe they can pull this artillery with horses?

i mean what value does self propelled artillery have??

Witty Rejoinder said:

Can you name a date for when the crash happens Wookie?

You can’t just say it’s inevitable but not give a date.

its like asking someone when a rotten beam will break

i just recognise the signs of the rot i can’t give a date , i’m saying its a matter of when not if

again , in the mean time i’m paying back the debt i owe as fast as i can , the gov is trying to break as many as they can; remember paul keating and the recession we had to have?

party_pants said:

wookiemeister said:

you might have noticed that they decided to not buy any artillery for the army recently which means less capability in the event of an attack on our mineral resources by direct means.

They’d be stuck on a base on the eastern seaboard thousands of miles away from the mineral resources with no means of getting up there.

or us to get to them

it works both ways

maybe we could fight them with subs that don’t work? or ships that are rusted out? we could fight them with the super hornet but against any decent SAM system they would be toast.

wookiemeister said:

maybe they can pull this artillery with horses?

i mean what value does self propelled artillery have??

School of Artillery even the big bits of kit are moved over the dunes by recruit power, bit of a proud tradition moving big bits of metal about without horses or motors. A horrible job for the crudlets though and it can be an almost all day job moving a 155 over a dune.

if there was an invasion of the north they wouldn’t bother heading south

they’d probably just sit sweet up north with a small army with lots of supplies

they might have an army of expendables – people that won’t be missed or cared about. we’d just end up fighting a guerilla warfare campaign on our “home” ground and sustaining losses and money.

.

I think the reason the electricity is going up is because they have to pay thousands of boat people to go round all the suburbs harrasing you to change providers.

the future is drones but the australian army/airforce has no knowledge of these things, they have to buy them/time from the “israelis” because they don’t have the brains to build their own drones.

its sad

great adverts talking themselves up though.

proud traditions etc

no brains to make locally made service rifle

can’t make artillery pieces

can’t make aircraft

can’t make tanks

can’t make night vision

its possible they make their own ammunition (small arms) but not made by locally designed and made machines

the subs were sabotaged – can’t make subs

>>i just recognise the signs of the rot i can’t give a date , i’m saying its a matter of when not if<,

But how will you know when to leave? You said you would bail out, as I recall.

wookiemeister said:

if there was an invasion of the north they wouldn’t bother heading south.

.

Who do you think will invade us?

Wookie, you do realise that this next crash has no blame to do with Oz but with the debt crisis in Europe?

buffy said:

>>i just recognise the signs of the rot i can’t give a date , i’m saying its a matter of when not if<,

But how will you know when to leave? You said you would bail out, as I recall.

A mate of mine who is into apocalypse gear is eyeing off NZ for his fortress of solitude.

>>Who do you think will invade us?

Germans, they have already got their Aldi spy network in place, we need to be ever vigilant of the Hun.

Skunkworks said:

A mate of mine who is into apocalypse gear is eyeing off NZ for his fortress of solitude.

Does he have a newsletter?

Witty Rejoinder said:

Skunkworks said:

A mate of mine who is into apocalypse gear is eyeing off NZ for his fortress of solitude.

Does he have a newsletter?

He prefers a low profile. I reckon he could achieve his main aims here in oz which would work better for him long term if the zombies dont rise up.

I probably wont matter anyway, according to a prominent spokesman for The Church of the Latter Day Warmists in a very short time there will be only a few breeding pairs of humans left in the only habitable place on earth, Antarctica.
I’m looking forward to getting robes and having The Prophet Tim come and minister unto us and tell us about The Warming and the end times.

wookiemeister said:

or us to get to them

it works both ways

maybe we could fight them with subs that don’t work? or ships that are rusted out? we could fight them with the super hornet but against any decent SAM system they would be toast.

We don’t have any means of moving such large vehicles around. I kn ow they are called self-propelled artillery, but you wouldn’t want to drive one across the Nullarbor. We don’t have enough C-17s to fly them and we’ve got no other cargo planes big enough to do the job, we got no railways going to the north west – Perth or Darwin would be the closest but they’re still 1000 km away overland, if we even had any rail wagons that could carry them. They’re nice to have, but we don’t have the rest of the kit that goes with it.

>I kn ow they are called self-propelled artillery, but you wouldn’t want to drive one across the Nullarbor.

Don’t be trying to tell me what I would, or would not, want to do…fascist!

sibeen said:

>PLUS interest.

Slow down, Poindexter.

Are you stating that if a bank loans money to an individual or a corporation they will charge a fee for doing so?

The bastards!

God hates usary!..

do you want to burn?

buffy said:

>>i just recognise the signs of the rot i can’t give a date , i’m saying its a matter of when not if<,

But how will you know when to leave? You said you would bail out, as I recall.

i’ll know when

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-29/secret-power-deal-labelled-unfair/4101638?section=business

The Tasmania Government is under fire after the signing of another secret cut-price power supply agreement for a big multi-national.

There is speculation the deals do not include the carbon tax.

Pressure is now mounting for the same offer to be extended to the state’s other businesses.

On Thursday the State Government announced 500 jobs at Rio Tinto’s Bell Bay smelter were safe thanks to an electricity supply deal with Hydro Tasmania.

Last month BHP Billiton renegotiated the supply contract for its TEMCO manganese smelter.

Geoff Fader from the Tasmanian Small Business Council has reacted angrily to Rio Tinto’s deal.

“If one business in Tasmania can buy carbon tax free from the Hydro, why should not all the other businesses in Tasmania?” he said.

The Premier Lara Giddings has refused to detail the terms of the deal.

“Details of the actual arrangements are, of course, commercial in confidence and I understand that’s frustrating for people,” she said.

Opposition spokesman Matthew Groom says big business should not be singled out for help.

“It is hypocritical of the government to provide carbon tax relief for big business on the one hand and deny carbon tax relief for households and small businesses on the other,” he said.

Greens spokesman Kim Booth has called for cheaper power to be extended all Tasmanians.

“You know it’s quite plausible that Tasmania is able to offer better pricing arrangements because we don’t have a carbon price attached to Hydro’s generation,” he said.

But Ms Giddings insists most Tasmanians will receive assistance.

“Nine out of 10 Tasmanian households are being assisted through this next period.”

ps hydro tasmania is in debt to the tune of 863 million dollars
wookiemeister assoc press

Hydro Tasmania’s net debt at 30 June 2010 was $863 million,
http://www.hydro.com.au/annual-reports/2010/contents/economic/page01.html

hydro tasmania receives “assistance” from the gov
(the figure is not freely available)

http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/parliament/pquest.nsf/a02db76382427ad84825718e0018e9c9/eeb09f8616eaad114825783b001e4f5b?OpenDocument

VERVE ENERGY — DEBT

16. Hon KATE DOUST to the Minister for Energy: (1) What is Verve Energy’s current debt?

(2) What dividends were paid to government by Verve Energy in 2010?

(3) Does the minister consider it appropriate that Verve profits are being used to prop up the government’s budget rather than paying off Verve’s substantial debt?

Hon PETER COLLIER replied:

I thank the honourable member for some notice of the question.

(1) As at 31 January 2011, Verve Energy’s debt was $1 193 million—Western Australian Treasury Corporation, $1 004 million; finance lease, $189 million.

(2) Dividend payments for the 2009–10 financial year are yet to be finalised.

(3) This government has stabilised the previously untenable loss-making position that Verve was forced into by the previous vesting contract between Verve and Synergy. Verve Energy has been incurring large financial losses as a result of retail electricity tariffs being below cost-reflective levels and the previous government’s requirement that Verve Energy bear the financial impact of this situation. The government considered this situation was unsustainable and has replaced the vesting contract with a more conventional contractual arrangement under which Synergy is now required to pay Verve Energy for its electricity generation at prices that enable Verve Energy to recover its costs. In addition, the government is transparently funding the difference between the prices paid by consumers and the cost of supplying electricity by way of subsidy payments to Synergy. It is appropriate for the government to receive a dividend from Verve Energy’s profits after tax, scheduled debt payments and depreciation. This practice also ensures appropriate competitive neutrality with private power providers who also operate in the south west interconnected system. Due to the changes made by the Liberal–National government, we are now able to show clearly and transparently what the operating cost is for our utilities and the real cost of providing electricity to businesses and residential consumers across the state.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has announced a $50 million bailout package for the fuel supplier Energy Brix.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-29/future-of-polluting-power-stations-remains-unclear/4101192?section=business

Both the Hazelwood and Yallourn power stations have expressed an interest in being paid to close as part of the Government’s cleaner energy policy.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

VICTORIA’S controversial brown-coal-fired Hazelwood power station is the biggest beneficiary of a billion dollars in federal government assistance, to be paid to electricity generators likely to face financial stress as a result of the introduction of the carbon tax on July 1.

Hazelwood’s owner, National Power Australia Investments – a subsidiary of giant electric utility International Power-GDF Suez – will receive a cash payment of $265.9 million in June to help keep the power plant in operation.

International Power gets more than a third of the total assistance as it also owns 70 per cent of the Loy Yang B power station, also in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, which receives $116.9 million.

Other brown-coal-fired power stations to receive assistance include TRUenergy’s Yallourn power station, which gets $257.5 million, and the Loy Yang A power station – soon to be wholly acquired by AGL Energy – which gets $240.1 million.

Brown coal is the most emissions-intensive form of electricity generation in Australia and, once a carbon price is introduced, generators in the Latrobe Valley face potential write-downs to asset value and higher financing costs.

Fitch Ratings recently estimated Victoria’s brown coal-fired generators faced debt refinancings of $2.7 billion this year.

The government’s energy security package provides $5.5 billion in assistance to cushion the impact of the carbon price on the electricity sector, including the upfront cash payments, free pollution permits, loan guarantees and about $2 billion to close down 2000 megawatts of brown-coal-fired generation capacity.

Tenders for contracts have closed and are being evaluated by the federal energy department. Either Hazelwood or Yallourn is expected to be the winner.

In a recent note, UBS utilities analyst David Leitch wrote: ‘‘We think the most likely candidate for closure is the Hazelwood plant … it is possible that … TRUenergy may offer a more agreeable deal … Specifically, TRUenergy has a disclosed plan to build an 800-megawatt gas-fired power plant on the Yallourn site and it may be that were it to commit to that, its closure plan may suit the government’s objectives better.’‘

http://m.smh.com.au/business/hazelwood-corners-bulk-of-carbon-aid-20120330-1w3se.html

Engineering firm Downer EDI has returned to profit after one of its projects was bailed out by the New South Wales government.

The company says annual net profit came in at $113 million dollars after a near $28 million loss last year.

Downer has delivered 12 trains so far to New South Wales as part of the long delayed Waratah project, which received financial assistance from the state after manufacturing faults and production delays.

Chief executive Grant Fenn says the production of the trains has picked up pace.

“It should clear now that these trains will be built and, of course, we will get paid,” he said.

“The quality standards are being met in China, the production rate has increased to 3 trains per month, and in Cardiff we are meeting our production targets also. Really importantly, the trains are performing well in service.”

The company has warned that there is an increasing level of uncertainty around the level and timing of government and private infrastructure projects.

Investors will get no dividend payout, however the company seems to have exceeded low expectations with its shares surging 10.6 per cent to $3.45.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-08-13/downer-swings-to-profit/4195168?section=business