ANGUS TAYLOR: I've just come from the COAG Energy Council meeting - it was extremely constructive and productive. We made very good progress on the critical issues that we need to progress to put downward pressure on electricity prices while we keep the lights on - the top priority in the electricity market for the Commonwealth Government.

We've agreed, from this meeting, that the Energy Security Board will focus its work now on getting the Retailer Reliability Obligation into place by 1 July, 2019. There's further work to do, which will go in front of the COAG Energy Ministers Meeting in December later this year. That piece of work is absolutely crucial for ensuring that we keep the lights on in the coming months and years. We are facing a very serious issue with our ability to keep the lights on, to keep the balance right between demand for electricity and the supply of reliable, firm electricity that can keep those lights on. As I say, the ESB will now focus its work, in particular on making sure we're in a position where we can implement that reliability obligation on 1 July.

We've also agreed to do work on a reference price. We are, as the Commonwealth, are absolutely determined that by 1 July next year, loyalty taxes which are being charged to so many Australian households and businesses, families, and businesses that work so hard and don't always have the time to negotiate a better price - they're left with a price where they pay far more for their loyalty or their inability to find the time to be able to negotiate a better price. The work that the COAG Energy Council, as instructed today, directed today to focus on a reference price, will be one step further to making sure those families and businesses get a good deal, so they're not getting the rip offs that they've seen in the past - and really dodgy practices that we have seen in the past from energy companies that do the wrong thing.

Can I thank my colleagues from across the states and territories for the work they've done today and in the lead up to today. As I say, it is another important step in the direction of lower prices for all Australian businesses and families, and of course, keeping the lights on in those areas where we know we have faced challenges and will face challenges in the coming years. Any questions?

JOURNALIST: Why haven't we got a policy today, Mr Taylor? Are there stumbling blocks? Are there issues to be ironed out? Why more talks?

ANGUS TAYLOR: We have a policy. Our policy is clear - it's to have the reliability obligation in place by 1 July and to make sure that is in place, that reliability obligation is put to the COAG Energy Council in December, and we agreed today that's exactly what we would do.

JOURNALIST: And how jaded should the public be considering the Coalition has been in power for five years now and it's only now that you're delivering some form of action on bringing down prices?

ANGUS TAYLOR: Well, we've been bringing prices down since we got into Government. We eliminated the carbon tax, a 10 per cent reduction in electricity prices as verified by the ACCC. We have abolished the Limited Merits Review, and as a result of that we're starting to see now a downward pressure on the network charges that are being charged by the big energy companies that run the distribution and transmission networks. Of course, we've seen 1.6 million households get a better deal because they have heard from us that it is crucial they get out and negotiate with their energy and electricity service providers. Now, it's true that some people don't have the time to do that. They're caught in traffic getting to and from work. They are too busy with families to be able to remember to pick up the phone and call their energy provider just before their contract rolls over, and so they get stung. Well, that's why we are determined to get rid of this loyalty tax.

JOURNALIST: How much of a relief is it for you that the reliability obligation, this last vestige of the NEG will be saved?

ANGUS TAYLOR: Well, the reliability obligation is an absolutely crucial initiative. We know this summer we're facing some real challenges and AEMO has been working hard to fill a gap of almost 400 megawatts in Victoria and South Australia. Now, we do not want to be left in that position again in the future. We want to be in a position where years ahead of time that supply and demand balance is matched. That the energy companies have an obligation to make sure there's enough capacity, enough generation, to meet the needs of hard-working Australians. That does two things - it keeps the lights on but it also keeps prices down.

JOURNALIST: Does the Government still believe that it should leave, that industry should leave emissions up to the Government, especially after Victoria and ACT's proposal to include emissions within the meeting today was voted down?

ANGUS TAYLOR: Let me tell you about emissions - we're going to see a 250 per cent increase in the wind and solar in the National Electricity Market in the next three years. A completely unprecedented amount of investment - $15 billion worth of investment in renewables, in wind and solar. The result of that is that we will see sharp reductions in emissions. It is why we're confident that we will reach our commitments, our 2030 commitments that we made several years ago in a canter, well ahead of time.

JOURNALIST: Regarding the Government's suggestion for a price benchmark - it says here that WA, Victoria, Tasmania, and NT noted it would not apply to their jurisdictions, so this just mean that Queensland and New South Wales will only be taking on the benchmark?

ANGUS TAYLOR: What's crucial is that the loyalty tax go. Now, in some jurisdictions, there are different arrangements, and the loyalty tax may not be there now, but what's crucial is that wherever there is a loyalty tax, wherever customers are being stung for having rolled over their contracts without knowing that they had to get on the phone and negotiate a better deal - wherever that is the case, we need to work hard to get rid of it. Our aim is and we are working to make sure that happens by 1 July 2019.

JOURNALIST: So it will not apply in their jurisdiction? That's not-

ANGUS TAYLOR: I'm not going to go through every jurisdiction, but the jurisdictions with regulated prices, which are significantly below a market price, so I'm not going to go through every jurisdiction, but what is crucial is where there is a loyalty tax, where customers have been stung, we want to see that loyalty tax gone.

JOURNALIST: The ACCC Chairman told Estimates yesterday that the issue of divestment powers was extreme and that the Commission advised against it in the past. How can you guarantee it will benefit consumers?

ANGUS TAYLOR: Well, we want to make sure that there is enough capacity in each market right across the National Electricity Market to ensure we can keep the lights on and we can keep prices down. Now, if a company wants to withdraw capacity, as we've seen in recent times, without proper warning, without a clear replacement of alternative electricity that can meet demand and keep prices down, then we need to take action. These sorts of powers exist in the UK and the US, they are not new to the world. They have been applied for many, many decades in other countries. They would only be used as a last resort but we will do what it takes to make sure we get prices down, and we have a reliable supply of electricity in this country.

JOURNALIST: What action would you take in that circumstance?

ANGUS TAYLOR: Well, it's clear - this is a recommendation which was adopted, this is a policy which was adopted by the Government several months ago, which is to say that in an extreme set of circumstances where it's clear that a company is withdrawing capacity without replacing it, where prices are going to be pushed up and supply is threatened, we will take action, and that could include forcing asset divestment.

JOURNALIST: And what do you say to the ACCC's comments yesterday, Rod Sim's comments that the prices you were flagging on Tuesday - $800 reductions or more in South Australia - are actually half that? New South Wales less than $200. He disputes your figures, says they're twice as much as what he says they should be.

ANGUS TAYLOR: Let's go through the figures, the facts. The facts are clear - two families living on the same street in Adelaide, same energy usage, over $800 difference. Two businesses in the same business park in Adelaide - over $3,000 difference. They're the facts. They're the facts. They're simple facts. Every market's different, but that's what we've got in South Australia, in Adelaide. It is an unacceptable situation, a loyalty tax which is being charged to hard working families and business who simply don't have time to negotiate a better alternative.

JOURNALIST: Which part of the policy that you announced earlier this week is different to what was announced under Malcolm Turnbull?

ANGUS TAYLOR: We've announced a whole series of initiatives this week which will have a material impact on people's prices. When -

JOURNALIST: But what is different to what was announced-

ANGUS TAYLOR: And much of what I'm about to say - just let me finish the answer - is different from where we were a month or two ago. So, for instance we are bringing forward a package of legislation - big stick legislation - which will include asset divestment powers which ensures that if there's untoward behaviour, bad behaviour, rip offs, dodgy practices, then there will be powers to intervene from the ACCC, from the Treasurer and, indeed, under certain circumstances from courts. That legislation will come forward later this year. As I said, we're aiming to get rid of the loyalty tax where it exists from 1 July with a down payment on 1 January. And by early next year, we're aiming to have a shortlist of projects which will provide that reliable baseload dispatchable supply, supply that is there when customers need it. A shortlist of those projects, which can underpin lower prices and reliable supply. They are all announcements which are new, and they're all important announcements for making sure we have lower prices and reliable electricity.

JOURNALIST: Minister, can you please just clarify what's happening with the price benchmarking because it sounds like you've got three states and the Northern Territory saying that it's not going to apply in their jurisdiction. So, have they just ruled it out completely?

ANGUS TAYLOR: So, let's be clear - our policy is really very simple - where there are loyalty taxes, where there are markets where loyalty taxes are being charged, that loyalty tax must go by 1 July. There are many ways to achieve that and we've said that from the start; whether it's through state legislation, Commonwealth legislation. The truth is, in some markets, states have already acted to do that - in Tasmania, for instance- but that loyalty tax must go because it is the most unfair, most pernicious price, bit of pricing I've seen in the electricity market. Hiking prices for hardworking families who simply don't have the time to be able to negotiate an alternative, spending those hours on the phone to call centres that we all dread. Well, there shouldn't a penalty for trusting your service provider - there should be a fair price for all.

JOURNALIST: Have you already started the groundwork for setting up that roundtable with the electricity retailers that you mentioned earlier?

ANGUS TAYLOR: We have. We have roundtables with electricity providers and others in the industries all the time. I've been doing roundtables like this one for many, many years - both in my previous job and this job. We're looking forward to as many electricity providers coming to the roundtable as want to come along. What we'll do at that meeting is we'll outline our policies that we announced this week, what our expectations are of them, and how we see we're going to deliver - working with the energy companies - lower prices and more reliable electricity for all Australians.

JOURNALIST: So there's no fear of cartel charges against them for those sorts of conversations?

ANGUS TAYLOR: Of course we're not going to breach the Australian laws. We don't do that. I mean, that's just not anything we intend to or will do. Thank you.