Aussie power crisis forces firms to eye offshore plans

Power prices have surged in Australia amid a shortage of coal-fired generation due to planned and unplanned outages, which has driven up demand for gas-fired generation at the same time as gas demand for heating jumped during a cold snap

SYDNEY: Australia’s biggest building materials manufacturers are cutting back operations, hiking prices and considering moving production offshore to manage a spike in power and gas bills, adding to pressure on the government to resolve the country’s energy crisis.

The chief executive officers of Brickworks Ltd, the country’s largest brickmaker, and Boral Ltd, the top maker of most other construction materials, flagged the changes even as Australia’s new Labour government scrambles to try to beef up power supplies and bring down electricity prices.