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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has denied Coalition claims that they would reduce electricity prices, saying aging coal-fired power plants are the biggest threat to reliable and affordable energy and that renewable energy is still the cheapest form of new energy.

“The best way to ensure the cheapest possible electricity is delivered is to continue the transition to renewable energy sources, backed by batteries and backed by gas,” Albanese told ABC Radio Sydney this morning.

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“What that means is that you will pay less than we would if we continued down this path of nothing.”

He said coal plants had deteriorated and remained offline due to the coalition’s lack of action during its decade in office.

“The truth is they have no plan to reduce prices. They have no plan to address an ongoing crisis because they haven’t taken action,” he said. “While they were in office, there was not a single new coal-fired power plant built or started under their command. They were in office for almost a decade.”

Albanese said his failed promise to cut energy bills by $275, which the opposition has repeatedly cited as a reason for moving away from net zero, was made before the war in Ukraine and global gas price increases.

“This was also before we looked at what the Coalition had left us,” he said.