Businesses are urging the NSW government to commit to keeping electricity costs down as debate rages over the future of Australia's largest coal-fired power station.
The state Labor government could extend the life of the Eraring power plant, near Newcastle, beyond 2025, with leaked findings from an independent review warning of power shortfalls without it.
The government has yet to commit to any extension, but Premier Chris Minns said earlier this week the plant was currently critical to the state's energy needs.
Opposition and minor party MPs have accused Labor of propping up big coal if taxpayer funds are used to help keep the plant open, but Daniel Hunter from lobby group Business NSW said on Friday people just wanted certainty over power prices.
He said results from the body's business conditions survey, based on responses from 1000 firms, found the top issue for most operators was keeping the lid on price hikes.
“Thirty-nine per cent of respondents said keeping bills down was the number-one priority,” he said.
“Thirty per cent said lowering the risk of blackouts was a top priority, while 21 per cent listed reducing emissions."
Mr Hunter said the majority of businesses wanted to transition to net-zero emissions, but there needed to be a firm plan in place to speed up the delivery of reliable and affordable renewable energy sources.
The price tag for keeping the Eraring plant open has been estimated at $200-400 million per year and Mr Hunter said the government needed to assure people that the costs wouldn't be passed on to consumers.
A review into NSW's energy transition has been led by Cameron O'Reilly, the former head of an energy industry lobby group and an advisor to both Labor and coalition governments.
The report's findings won't be made public until next week.
Opposition energy spokesman James Griffin called on the government to release the report, accusing Labor of preparing to tear up the Liberals' renewable energy plan.
Labor plans to introduce laws to legislate its emission reduction targets and establish an independent Net Zero Commission to manage the energy transition.
