SYDNEY—Electricity prices will increase regardless of whether assets are privatised by the NSW Government, the Energy Supply Association of Australia (ESAA) says.
ESAA chief executive Brad Page said the end price of power would be dictated by many factors beyond the control of the supplier.
"I do not think who owns it is going to dictate in the end what the price looks like for a couple of reasons," he told ABC television.
"First of all, it is not sustainable for any government to continue to price electricity below what it costs to to supply - sooner or later those prices have to catch up with reality.
"Secondly, it is going to cost a lot more for electricity into the future", he said, citing the impact of emissions trading schemes and rising gas and coal prices.
Mr Page said the NSW Government is one of the few governments to still own all its electricity assets.
"The Government currently prices electricity compulsorily below what it costs to supply it, so anybody coming in from the private sector wanting to build a new power station simply would be taking a huge risk ...," he said.
"With the Government owning all the assets but in a competitive market, it is in a unique position compared to any private sector investor in that it can always pass legislation or change some of the rules to advantage its own assets rather than make it an even playing field for all."
However, Mr Page said there were "perfectly willing" private investors happy to take on that risk and build power stations.
"There certainly is plenty of investment opportunities there, and there's plenty of investors keen to help out the people of NSW to make sure that they've got a modern electricity supply system that can meet greenhouse gas abatement into the future and reliable supply," he said.
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