Clean power price warning

The energy industry has warned that an effective emissions trading scheme could drive up the price of energy by almost a quarter in inflation-adjusted dollars by 2020.

Higher retail prices would be driven by changes to the energy sector. Cutting carbon emissions 10% by 2020 would push up the cost of emissions permits to $45 per tonne of carbon dioxide, adjusted for inflation, according to a report commissioned by the Energy Supply Association of Australia.