Premier Peter Beattie will be urgently seeking reassurance the state will not face the power shortages experienced in other states in recent times, spurred on by the fact Queensland broke the record for electricity demand six times this summer. Reliability of the network and the adequacy of capital and maintenance budgets are crucial issues for the review.
Beattie, Treasurer Terry Mackenroth and Energy Minister Stephen Robertson also released the review's terms of reference, following Cabinet's endorsement.
They said PricewaterhouseCoopers Brisbane partner Darryl Somerville will lead the review, and will work with interstate power expert Steve Blanch and Electrical Safety Commissioner Jack Camp.
"The team will begin work immediately and report to Cabinet," Beattie said.
"Our electricity networks are among the largest in the world, and they are catering for rocketing growth - including a 12% increase in peak demand since the beginning of 2003 - and a 40% increase in peak demand since 1999-2000.
"We need to ensure everything is set to meet demand for the future, which is why the government requires a detailed review of the electricity networks' reliability, operational expenditure and systems (including communications systems).
"Mr Somerville, Mr Blanch and Mr Camp are experts in their fields, and I am confident their review will be nothing short of comprehensive and thorough," Beattie said.
Robertson said: "Queensland is generating more than enough power to meet the recent records in demand.
"But with that said, Queenslanders must feel confident that our networks can reliably handle current and future demand," Robertson said.
Mackenroth said the review, Electricity Distribution and Service Delivery for the 21st Century, will give stakeholders - including relevant unions, the energy sector, regional electricity councils and consumer groups - an opportunity to be involved in the process.
"An Issues Paper inviting submissions to help the independent group in its review will be prepared and released shortly," he said.
"All submissions provided by the due date will be considered in developing the final report and the recommendations," Mackenroth.
Cabinet has for specific recommendations after evaluating the reliability of Queensland's electricity distribution system and report on the standard of the distribution system as benchmarked against appropriate comparisons. It will be asked to review the levels of expenditure on capital works and maintenance required to cater for current and demands and future growth in the distribution system, as benchmarked against appropriate comparisons.
The review will determine whether current legislative and regulatory requirements are sufficient to ensure reliable supply and, if insufficient, recommend solutions for improving supply including legislative amendments.
It will make recommendations for ongoing evaluation and reporting of reliability performance and evaluate the capital and operational expenditure of Energex and Ergon.
Also under scrutiny is whether communication systems to advise the public of power interruptions are adequate and, where appropriate, identify any areas for improvement.
The review will incorporate the work of a review of Energex and Ergon call centres, which was initiated by the previous Energy Minister, Paul Lucas.
Energex distributes power to approximately 1.13 million customers in the south east corner of Queensland using 50,000 kilometres of network. Ergon distributes power to approximately 560,000 customers across the rest of Queensland using 135,000 kilometres of network.
