Transgrid, ETU fight leaves generators stranded and power prices under pressure

A bitter industrial row between electrical workers and the company that owns the high voltage power lines in New South Wales is spilling into the electricity market amid claims of stranded generators and rising wholesale prices. Matt Murphy from the Electrical Trades Union said "heaps" of generators had been left offline in recent months as workers escalated their fight against Transgrid, the private firm that owns the transmission network in Australia's most populous state. But Mr Murphy, the national industry coordinator for the ETU, was more forthcoming, saying the NSW transmission network was being "degraded" the longer the stand-off with Transgrid lasted. Josh Stabler from research firm Energy Edge said significant grid connection delays were a big risk for new renewable energy projects. The Clean Energy Investor Group, which represents deep-pocketed backers of green power projects including investment bank Macquarie Group, said there was an urgent need to break the impasse.