# Capture — two meters, one slogan

- **Claim filed:** Renewables are “the cheapest new electricity” and that is “the best way… to put downward pressure on bills.” Also: “they’re the cheapest.”
- **Who:** Chris Bowen MP, Minister for Climate Change and Energy
- **URL:** https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/bowen/media-releases/joint-media-release-renewables-lead-australias-cheapest-energy-source
- **Date on page:** 17 December 2025
- **Publisher:** Ministers for the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
- **Title:** Renewables lead as Australia's cheapest energy source
- **Captured:** 2026-08-14
- **Method:** saved HTML (`bowen-gencost-2025-12-17.html`)

## Verbatim (ministerial release)

> CSIRO’s modelling show that in 2030 and 2050 solar and wind outperform alternatives like coal and nuclear as the cheapest form of energy.

> “GenCost is clear; renewables remain the cheapest new electricity, and firming them with battery storage, transmission, hydro and a small amount of gas peaking is the best way to keep the lights on and put downward pressure on bills.”

> “Renewables are not just the cleanest energy option, they’re the cheapest.”

## What GenCost actually measured (same file family)

CSIRO news, 15 July 2026 — `csiro-gencost-2026-07-15.html`  
https://www.csiro.au/en/news/all/news/2026/july/gencost-2025-26

- GenCost is “the costs of **new-build** electricity generation, storage and hydrogen technologies.”
- NEM generation price about **$104/MWh in 2025**, down from **$189/MWh in 2022**.
- Futures: **$80–90/MWh by 2030**.
- By 2050, “no new electricity generation technology is expected to deliver electricity below $100/MWh.”

## What household prices actually did (other meters)

ABS, 29 July 2026 — `abs-cpi-2026-06.html`  
https://www.abs.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/cpi-rose-38-year-june-2026

> “Electricity remains one of the biggest contributors to annual inflation, with costs **22.4 per cent higher** than 12 months ago… This is largely because government rebates which reduced household electricity bills have ended.”

AER Default Market Offer 2026–27 (from 1 July 2026), summarised in `solarquotes-dmo-2026-05-26.html`  
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/aer-dmo-2026-27-power-bills-drop/  
https://www.aer.gov.au/news/articles/news-releases/aer-releases-final-default-market-offer-2026-27

- Flat-rate residential DMO: **down 3.4% to 7.2%** in NSW and SE Queensland; South Australia **+1.4%**.

The ministerial page does not cite the household CPI series or the DMO when it says “downward pressure on bills.”