The State Liberals have released an FOI determination by the Ombudsman directing the Weatherill Government to reveal how much money Alinta requested to keep the Northern Power Station operating.

 “Tom Koutsantonis needs to come clean about the negotiations that took place regarding saving the Northern Power Station and keeping down electricity prices,” said Shadow Minister for Energy Dan van Holst Pellekaan.

 “Tom Koutsantonis needs to front the media today and explain to the South Australian people why he chose to let the Northern Power Station close down and as a consequence force up electricity prices.

 “The detrimental flow on effects of the massive jump in South Australia’s electricity prices will be felt in household budgets and jobs growth for years to come.

 “Since the closure announcement of the Northern Power Station forward contract and spot market prices for electricity have spiked costing our state hundreds of millions of dollars.

 “That spike in electricity prices resulted in the Weatherill Government announcing a $24 million handout to incentivise companies to extract more gas and supply it to the local market.

 “That $24 million gas policy will have no impact on the price of electricity for South Australian households or businesses and may be more costly than keeping the Northern Power Station open.

 “If Alinta was seeking an amount of money anywhere close to that $24 million figure the Treasurer has made an appalling misjudgement in refusing to support the continued operation of the Northern Power Station.

“The fact the Treasurer has fought tooth and nail to keep this figures a secret suggests he is extremely concerned about the political fallout from this information being made public.”