Alinta cites ‘discrimination’ concerns in Brookfield/Origin takeover
Electricity generator and retailer Alinta Energy has told the competition regulator that the takeover of Origin Energy’s markets business by Canadian giant Brookfield could lead to discrimination against Origin’s competitors when negotiating to connect new renewable projects to the grid.
A submission to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission reveals that Alinta, a generator of electricity from coal, gas and renewable energy and a competitor of Origin, has voiced concerns about the sort of vertical integration that the $18.7 billion deal involves.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, led by chairwoman Gina Cass-Gottlieb, is canvassing views on the Origin takeover deal. Rhett Wyman
The proposed takeover would result in Brookfield, which already owns the Ausnet transmission and distribution business in Australia, also owning power plants, a combination of assets that has not been possible since the separation of networks assets from generation and retailing assets for competition reasons in the 1990s.
“Alinta has concerns regarding the combination of transmission and distribution assets with generation assets in the National Electricity Market,” according to the document, a record of an oral submission to ACCC officials by Alinta’s regulatory manager Hugh Ridgway.
“Alinta has concerns about the ability and incentive for TNSP/DNSP [transmission network service providers/distribution network service providers] assets to start discriminating against Origin’s competitors when negotiating connections to the NEM.”
The objections from Alinta – a “second-tier” retailer owned by Hong Kong’s diversified Chow Tai Fook Enterprises – follow concerns that have also been voiced by junior player Syncline Energy.
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