Coalition publishes modelling for national gas plan: reports
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The news: Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has released highly anticipated data which the Coalition argues shows that its national gas plan will immediately put downward pressure on domestic prices and will “progressively lower” gas and electricity bills.
The numbers: According to media reports, the Frontier Economics modelling demonstrates that the gas policy, which will force LNG producers to boost their domestic supply, will slash wholesale prices by around 23%, reduce industrial retail gas bills by 15% and see 7% shaved from household gas costs. It would also lead to a 3% cut in residential electricity prices.
The context: Released in parallel with the Sky News People’s Forum, the first election debate on Tuesday evening, the Coalition did not commit to a timeframe for the price-cut promises, as it argues that it will take time for the reservation scheme to kick in. The modelling shows a roughly two-year period for the 3% price reduction to take effect.
Should a 3% reduction on electricity bills be achieved, around $60 would be erased from the average electricity bill of $2,100 (for homes without solar or batteries).
The Australian reports that under the Coalition’s gas-reservation plan, east coast producers will be hit with a $400 million levy in the first year, which would only be rebated if they supplied up to 100 petajoules of gas into the domestic market at a price below $10. Wholesale gas prices are currently at over $14 per gigajoule.
A statement from Dutton shared with the SMH reads: “Our policy will be a game changer because we can then see the cost and therefore price of electricity, construction, food prices and many other goods start to come down. Gas is critical to our nation’s energy future. By making the gas companies put more of our Aussie gas into our market instead of exporting it, we will get the price of gas down by 15 per cent.”
PM Anthony Albanese walked away from Labor's commitment to reduce power bills by $275 by mid-year, and another $103 by 2030.
The sources: SMH, The Australian
