Regulator says it will be up to governments to “set clear policy direction” for the gas sector as more households ditch the fossil fuel, and bans on new connections spread from Victoria to other jurisdictions.set a $220 standard fee for Victorian households to disconnect from gas in its 2023-28 access agreement. New South Wales is next up, with a decision on its pricing due before next June, with those for the ACT and South Australia to follow a year later.
Actual costs for permanent gas abolition range between $800 and $1,200 per household, and the regulator noted the $220 covered only about a quarter of the cost of disconnecting in Victoria. Remaining users picked up the difference.AER chair Clare Savage said “socialising the costs” was needed in part to reduce the safety risk of leaving “live” unused assets in place if gas was merely disconnected at the meter, which is a cheaper option.
An AER spokesperson said the regulator had agreed to “a measured start” to allow gas network operators to accelerate the depreciation of their Victorian and ACT assets to balance the impact on short-term prices on their longer-term outlook. “As we move towards our next gas access arrangement reviews, we are looking at other measures to support this, including the forms of control that apply to gas pipelines and the structure of tariffs,” the spokesperson said.