Energy prices in spotlight as government aims to ease load on families
Energy costs will be a key issue in the lead up to the federal budget as the government considers further measures to reduce pressure on household budgets.
Australia's energy regulator says conditions have improved in the electricity market after its unprecedented intervention earlier this week. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
But the peak body for the oil and gas industry says investment, not intervention, would help drive down power bills.
Late last year the government intervened in the energy market by introducing a temporary 12-month price cap on coal and gas.
The October budget forecasted a 56 per cent increase in electricity prices and 44 per cent in gas prices for households over the next two years without government intervention.
But in its submission for the 2023/24 budget due to be handed down in May, the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA), said government intervention was not the solution.
“(Price caps), along with ongoing legal hurdles and delays for new oil and gas projects, create significant uncertainty and make investors nervous to allocate new capital to the sector and the economy,” chief executive Samantha McCulloch said.
“The government should take note of the lessons from the price cap implementation when considering permanent regulation of gas prices through a mandatory code of conduct.
“It would send a positive signal to investors to recommit to an open, market-based economy.”
APPEA’s submission also called on the government to establish a road map to provide clear policy direction and progress priority hubs for low emissions projects to promote Australia as a regional leader in carbon storage.
McCulloch said investment in new gas supplies would meet demand and drive down prices and the road map would contribute to net zero emissions ambitions.
“The value of our energy resources and their contribution to the economy, jobs and net zero cannot be taken for granted,” she said.
“Clear, stable policies are essential to provide industry with confidence to invest in the new energy supplies needed.”
Yet in a submission to a parliamentary inquiry on the cost of living, the federal energy and climate change department said gas spot and wholesale electricity prices had already decreased after the October budget.
In September, the east coast average gas spot price was around $20 per gigajoule and had since fallen to around $12.
Similarly, wholesale electricity prices in NSW were at $230 per megawatt-hour before the budget and government intervention, but at the start of February had dropped to $129.
The department said this reduction was consistent with estimates about the impact of the government’s energy price relief plan.
