Energy Price Relief Plan
The Australian Government is partnering with states and territories to deliver the Energy Price Relief Plan to address the immediate impact of price increases on Australian households and small businesses. Through the Energy Price Relief Plan the government is:
- taking action to limit gas and coal prices
- providing targeted energy bill relief for households and small businesses
- driving investment in cleaner, cheaper, more reliable energy for the future.
Coal and gas price caps
The Australian Government has worked with the NSW and Queensland governments to set an effective cap for the price of coal used for electricity generation at $125 a tonne.
The government is also taking action to limit gas prices, including:
- Introducing a 12-month emergency cap on gas prices at $12 per gigajoule (GJ). This price cap applies to new domestic wholesale gas contracts by east coast producers.
- Introducing a mandatory Gas Code of Conduct for gas producers and users. The Code of Conduct includes a gas price cap subject to review by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
- Implementing reforms to the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism (AGDSM) to ensure sufficient supply of gas for the domestic market.
- Boosting resources for the ACCC to implement, monitor and enforce these measures.
These price caps are expected to significantly reduce previously forecast increases to the price of retail electricity and gas.
Targeted energy bill relief
The Australian Government is partnering with states and territories to deliver targeted electricity bill relief to eligible households and small businesses through the Energy Bill Relief Fund. Bill relief payments will start from 1 July 2023.
Investing in a renewable future
Beyond these immediate measures, the government is encouraging new investment in clean dispatchable capacity to support reliability and reduce the risk of price shocks. The Capacity Investment Scheme will unlock around $10 billion of private and public sector investment in dispatchable renewable generation and storage.
The Energy Price Relief Plan complements the government’s longer-term plan for Australia’s energy transformation. This includes working with states and territories through the National Energy Transformation Partnership to maintain reliable, secure and affordable electricity as Australia transitions towards a renewable energy system.
Read more
Joint media release on the Energy Price Relief Plan 9 December 2022
