Coalition vows to harness gas to stop soaring power bills

The Coalition will ramp up gas production to combat soaring power bills, in the wake of new forecasts showing electricity costs could soar by more than $200 a year for NSW households.

The Coalition have talked up their plans to urgently pivot to ramping up gas production to combat soaring power bills, in the wake of new forecasts showing electricity costs could soar by more than $200 a year for NSW households.

Opposition energy spokesman Ted O’Brien said his answer to the latest bad news for bill-payers was to “prioritise gas”, after the Australian Energy Regulator on Thursday published its Default Market Offer (DMO) – which acts as a benchmark for how much energy bills will rise – showing that some households could expect a $200-a-year rise from July.

Mr O’Brien said that while the Coalition’s big-target nuclear energy proposal was a long-term answer to power costs, gas in the short-term would be relied upon to provide relief.

The Coalition has committed to putting gas within the Capacity Investment Scheme – Labor’s flagship policy to attract investment to renewables, by providing electricity generators a price guarantee.

Labor and the Greens struck a deal earlier this year to keep gas out of the scheme, something the Coalition will overturn.

Opposition energy spokesman Ted O’Brien says the Coalition will ramp up gas production to combat soaring power bills. Picture: Lachie Millard

“We believe that instead of putting all your eggs in one basket with a ‘renewables-only’ approach, we should have a balanced energy mix,” Mr O’Brien told the ABC on Friday.

“That means renewables plus gas and as coal retires from the system, it should be replaced with zero-emissions nuclear energy.

“Our plan in the short term is to prioritise gas.

“In the long term (our plan is) to prioritise zero-emissions nuclear energy, which has been independently modelled. That approach would deliver a net zero electricity grid at 44 per cent cheaper than Labor’s.”

Thursday’s draft DMO – which represents the maximum price that retailers can charge customers – comes as the latest update from the Australian Energy Regulator shows 70,060 customers in NSW are in hardship programs with their energy company.

Mr O’Brien told The Telegraph the latest DMO update put more families at risk of going into hardship.

“Australian families and businesses are being crushed by Labor’s energy failures, and the latest price update only adds to the pain,” he said.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen on Thursday encouraged energy customers to shop around and blamed some of the price rises on old coal-fired power stations breaking down.

“We know Australians … are doing it tough with the increases in cost of living in recent times. That’s why they deserve a government on their side. A government making decisions like short-term energy bill relief and longer term, the plans to introduce more of cheaper, more reliable energy,” he said.

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Originally published as Coalition vows to harness gas to stop soaring power bills