At 9am this morning, 14 Greenpeace activists arrived at the offices of Simply Energy in Melbourne to present them with the award of Australia’s Dirtiest Energy Retailer.

“There has been some tough competition over the past 12 months,” said head judge and Greenpeace campaign director Steve Campbell, “but Simply Energy’s steadfast commitment to powering climate change through their coal addiction has left them head and shoulders ahead of the pack.”

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Simply Energy is the retail arm of International Power, the UK-based multinational that owns Hazelwood power station. Hazelwood is the dirtiest power station in the developed world, producing a staggering 19 million tonnes of greenhouse pollution every year. That is the same amount as emitted by all 1.4 million households in Melbourne.