More than 60 percent of a power bill is made up of transmission costs. These will increase significantly if we opt for 100 percent renewable energy, as we will need to build thousands of kilometres of new power lines to bring electricity from solar and wind farms to the cities.
Fact:
Transmission involves moving electricity from its source (power stations, wind farms, solar farms and the like) to substations in urban and rural areas. This represents only about 8 percent of a power bill, not 60 percent as the myth claims. Even if we add distribution costs, which are not affected by the cost of high voltage power lines, we only get to 42 percent of a power bill.
In addition, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) estimates the cost of building new transmission lines to be $16.4 billion, if the country is to completely decarbonise its grid. It also estimates that this amount will not only be fully recouped but will also deliver an additional $17 billion in net benefits to the economy. In other words, consumers and businesses will be better off with a shift to renewables.