Key Points
- Energy Minister Chris Bowen is urging Australia's gas companies must do the right thing by consumers.
- Independent MP Allegra Spender said rising energy prices were caused by "a crisis in fossil fuel prices" and the government and gas companies should be doing more to help Australian consumers.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen is urging Australia's gas companies must do the right thing by consumers, as he grants the energy market operator new powers to store gas to combat shortages.
"There's a social licence against companies, and gas companies need to do the right thing by Australian domestic consumers both industrial and domestic," Mr Bowen told the ABC on Thursday, while ruling out imposing windfall taxes on gas companies.
He said liquefied natural gas will be needed to help transition Australia to renewables, despite criticising the Morrison government's "gas fired recovery" as "a fraud".
"We need gas to stabilise while we are building the storage and transmission (for renewables)," he said.
"We don’t have that infrastructure at the moment."
Unlike coal-fired power stations, gas-fired stations "can be turned on and off very quickly" which is why "gas will play a role" in the transition to renewables, Mr Bowen said.
High-profile 'teal' independent MP Allegra Spender said rising energy prices were caused by "a crisis in fossil fuel prices" and the government and gas companies should be doing more to help Australian consumers.
"We have the energy in this country, it is absolutely tragic that people are in that situation. I think that the government can do more and what we’re looking at right now is a crisis in fossil fuel prices," Ms Spender told the Today Show on Thursday.
"You’re seeing gas prices and coal prices across the world spiking because of the war in the Ukraine."
Independent MP for Wentworth Allegra Spender. Source: AAP / BIANCA DE MARCHI/AAPIMAGE
"Exactly what the government should be doing is working with the gas companies and saying ‘guys, you know people – Australians, families and businesses expect to be able to access affordable energy, you’re making great profits, you’re not paying a lot of corporate tax on the east coast and you’re making great profits because of this spike in prices, you need to come to the party and make sure that Australian consumers and businesses are protected," she said.
Ministers agree to plan to deal with energy emergency
Mr Bowen on Wednesday , where they were briefed by the Australian Energy Regulator, Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), and the head of the Energy Security Board (ESB).
The federal government has granted the energy market operator new powers to store gas to combat shortages, while the scope of regulators will be boosted to ensure transparency in the sector.
The energy ministers agreed to an 11-point plan at the emergency meeting, called as the nation's power suppliers struggle with gas shortages and soaring energy prices.
Mr Bowen said there was no "silver bullet" or overnight fix, blaming his predecessors for a rigid energy grid unable to adapt to evolving pressures.
"The (AEMO) could not procure some gas and keep it in reserve to be released for urgent and crisis situations," he said following the meeting.
"That is technically possible. There's storage facilities around the country. We agreed to work to give AEMO that power, and to give them that power expeditiously."
The Australian Energy Market Commission has been instructed to proceed with the development of the capacity mechanism which ensures power plants are available to generate electricity when needed.
The capacity mechanism will focus on new technologies such as transmission, storage and renewables, but Mr Bowen would not rule out the use of coal-fired power plants when asked if they would be included in the energy mix.
"It's designed to improve the capacity in the system," he said.
"I also believe it should be expert-led. In terms of the detailed design, the ESB will do their work and put it out for detailed consultation."
The development of a national transition plan for the energy market ahead of the next meeting in July has also been agreed to.
Nationals push Albanese government on nuclear power
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should agree to a cost-benefit analysis of nuclear power, the Nationals say, as debate continues over power prices and energy security.
The Nationals say it does not make sense for Australia to be the only country in the G20 group to ban nuclear power.
Nationals leader David Littleproud has written to the PM asking for serious consideration of small-scale nuclear power.
But Labor has rejected the technology as too expensive and not a serious solution to reducing power costs or cutting emissions.
Nationals deputy leader Perin Davey said it was time for Australia to examine the benefits of new nuclear technologies, in terms of cost, emissions and energy security.
"We are the only country in the G20 that has a legal ban on nuclear power," Senator Davey told Sky News on Thursday.
"Yet we're the third largest uranium producer in the world."
She said if the government supported a technology-based transition to net zero emissions, nuclear must be in the mix.
"Australia's got to move on - it's no longer the 70s and 80s, we no longer have the Nuclear Disarmanent Party and even Greens voters are saying nuclear should be considered because it is zero emissions power."
The ageing of coal-fired power stations made it even more urgent, she said.
NSW energy minister Matt Kean said people talking about nuclear energy were "literally chasing unicorns".
