Green hip pocket pain

Here's one way to force down electricity consumption:

Households will be forced to pay up to 30 per cent more for electricity by mid-2013, with the Federal Government's renewable energy scheme responsible for 11 per cent of that increase.

The bottom line:

The document will add further weight to this week's warnings by the Productivity Commission that the renewable energy incentives being demanded by the Greens are pushing up costs for little environmental gain.

Pricey renewable energy can't be counted on, however:

As wind farm investment in WA gathers pace, Western Power has warned that an over-dependence on the technology could compromise the electricity grid's security of supply.

The State-owned utility's system manager Ken Brown said wind farms were unreliable and this could leave the network dangerously exposed to blackouts if peak demand coincided with a still day.

Save the planet? Jesus, someone please save us from the Greens.