THE NSW government has sold off two power stations to one of Australia's biggest energy companies, stoking fears the state is moving towards full electricity privatisation.
EnergyAustralia has bought Mt Piper and Wallerawang power stations from state-owned Delta Electricity for $160 million, it was announced on Thursday, in the latest string of plants to be offloaded to the private sector.
Treasurer Mike Baird says selling the stations, near Lithgow in central west NSW, will remove about $200 million from the state's liabilities arising from the previous Labor government's 2010 GenTrader contracts.
"This is an excellent result for the people of NSW, who will no longer be exposed to billions of dollars in liabilities, created by Labor's GenTrader transaction," Mr Baird said in a statement.
The GenTrader deals, which Mr Baird described as a disaster, were struck under the previous Labor government to sell electricity trading rights to the private sector under a complex model.
He said the Auditor General found GenTrader assets were sold by Labor for less than half their value.
Shadow Treasurer Michael Daley warned the sale could lead to skyrocketing power prices, adding it showed the O'Farrell government was prepared to "sell off anything that isn't bolted down".
Mr Daley said the announcement marked the latest in a "now very long line" of assets sold off by the government.
The Port of Newcastle was leased for 99 years last month in a deal expected to net the government more than $700 million, while a similar arrangement was finalised in April for Port Botany and Port Kembla for over $5 billion.
Sydney's desalination plant was leased for 50 years in 2012 in a $2.3 billion deal.
Mr Daley said the latest sale signifies the next step towards full electricity privatisation.
Similar privatisation in Victoria had seen power bills increase by 130 per cent, he said.
Greens MP John Kaye said it could end up costing the state billions of dollars if a future government wanted to replace the coal-fired stations with clean-energy alternatives.
"Wallerawang and Mt Piper produce almost 25 per cent of the state's electricity-related greenhouse gas emissions. They have just left any public control," Mr Kaye said in a statement.
Energy sector unions said taxpayers have been short-changed because the stations are being sold for a pittance without putting the sale out to competitive tender.
"Taxpayers deserve to know that they've got the best deal possible, and that clearly isn't the case with this ongoing power station sell off by the O'Farrell Government," Electrical Trades Union NSW secretary Steve Butler said.
The sale comes in response to the Tamberlin report, which recommended the government sell or lease its GenTrader power assets, and follows the sale of another government-owned plant, Eraring Energy, to Origin for $50 million on July 1.
Delta Electricity Central Coast power stations at Vales Point and Colongra are also expected to be sold in 2014.
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