The national competition regulator is set to amend some of the new rules that will govern the gas market in the eastern states, including one provision that producers say artificially inflates demand.
A spokeswoman for the ACCC confirmed amendments to the interim guidance on the price cap rules are in the works. “Take-or-pay arrangements were the area of greatest interest from industry and are being addressed in the amendments to the guidance.” The deliberations come as the Labor government has also proposed changes to the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism, the policy tool that gives Canberra the power to curb LNG exports if required to avoid shortages in the local market., Resources Minister Madeleine King would decide every three months – rather than every year – whether LNG exports from Queensland should be restricted for the following quarter, placing uncertainty over the volumes customers in Asia could expect.