Alinta Energy CEO Jeff Dimery says the continued uncertainty around energy policy is “very disappointing” for industry and will hurt future investment.

Today, the Prime Minister announced further changes to his energy policy, scrapping plans to legislate an emissions reductions target.

Previously, the National Energy Guarantee aimed to abide by a target of 26 percent, in line with the Paris Agreement.

Mr Turnbull’s decision comes amid speculation his leadership is in trouble, with Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton rumoured to be vying for the top job.

Boss of energy giant Alinta Energy tells Ross Greenwood the industry has been screaming out for certainty but it seems there isn’t any on the horizon.

“Obviously we’ve been calling out for certainty of policy for some time now.

“I guess what we’re sort of consigned to for the next little while is continued uncertainty. From a whole of industry perspective, it’s very disappointing.”

When it comes to whether buying the Liddel coal-fired power station from AGL is still on the cards, Mr Dimery says uncertainty around emissions targets makes that decision “virtually impossible”.

“Ultimately, we’d be interested in buying the asset if we thought we were able to produce competitive energy from it.

“But it’s impossible to understand whether that would or wouldn’t be the case if you don’t know what the policy setting will be.”

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