New gas supply to help avoid seasonal shortfalls in supply
Woodside and Esso have agreed to provide an additional 260 petajoules of gas supply out to 2033, with Labor saying it will help feed into demand centres at particular risk of seasonal shortfalls
The Albanese government has announced an additional 260 petajoules of gas supply out to 2033, given new commitments from two major companies under the exemptions framework to Labor’s Gas Code of Conduct.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Resources Minister Madeleine King on Monday will announce the new supply commitments from Woodside and Esso are equivalent to 2½ years of gas-powered generation demand.
The announcement is on top of commitments made by Senex and APLNG in November, with the government saying the total volume of gas secured through the Gas Market Code has now increased to 564 petajoules.
Mr Bowen said gas was “critical to supporting a lower-cost, more renewable grid as ageing coal exits” and to “support Australian manufacturing”.
He said the gas code had helped to “shore up energy reliability and affordability after a decade of chaos” and was now delivering “commitments for gas supply that’s equivalent to what is needed for powering east coast gas power stations for five years”.
Ms King said gas was “essential to supporting the nation’s energy grid” and “crucial to keeping energy prices down for households and businesses”.
The government said the additional supply commitments would feed directly into southern demand centres previously identified as being at particular risk of seasonal shortfalls, and ensure sufficient domestic supply to keep downward pressure on prices.
The Mandatory Gas Code of Conduct began on July 11 and set a price cap at $12/Gj to anchor wholesale contract negotiations between producers and buyers.
An exemptions framework was created to incentivise producers to commit more gas to the east coast market in the short term and facilitate new investment to meet demand.
More Coverage
Add your comment to this story
‘Indigenising’ curriculum is all about politics, not the law
Including ‘Indigenous perspectives’ in a law school is, by definition, a political project, given that Australian law has no Indigenous component. So why aren’t these perspectives open to robust debate by other perspectives?
‘Negative gearing our price for power’
Adam Bandt will issue an election ransom note to Anthony Albanese demanding capital gains and negative gearing tax breaks be axed.
To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register
Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout