Liberal MP Craig Kelly is calling for an overhaul of Australian consumer laws, which would force AGL to keep Liddell power station open or sell it to a competitor who will keep it running.

The suggestion would preclude companies who are dominant market players from limiting their essential service production in ways that might compromise or prejudice consumers.

Mr Kelly says the downward trajectory that Victoria took after the closure of Hazelwood verifies why the changes are needed.

“We had a premature closure of Hazelwood. That more than doubled the wholesale price of electricity in Victoria. Because we have got interconnectors between the states, it affected the cost of electricity right across the eastern seaboard.”

“That has put thousands of jobs at risk, it has put industry at risk. It has put companies at a competitive disadvantage because of the stupidity of chasing that power station out of town and thinking you could replace it with some sort of combination of solar power batteries and wind.”

Mr Kelly says that unless something is done, New South Wales will go the same way with Liddell.

“If AGL pulls Liddell out of the market, if they withdrew production and withdrew that supply, that will push the wholesale price of electricity up,” he says.

“Further, it will put us at a real risk of blackouts here in NSW.”

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