Make a submission: Published response
Published name
What category best describes your interest in gas? You can tick more than one.
1. Do you use any international and/or domestic forecasts to inform your outlook of the gas market?
AEMO IEA
2. What role do you see gas-fired generators playing in supporting Australia’s 82% renewable energy targets and beyond?
Transition
3. How will the expected trends in demand from gas-fired generators impact other gas users?
Limited impact thus far
4. What should government do to consider managing these impacts and to mitigate energy peaks caused by regional or seasonal variations?
Focus on reducing consumer demand, particularly in Victoria & the winter peaks
5. How feasible, and at what scale, are alternatives to natural gas for the electricity sector?
Peaking generation will come from liquid/gas generation, but exclude Hydrogen. Independent Biomethane sites may have an impact.
Battery Storage technology is evolving, Li remains an expensive option. Hydro also expensive per Snowy 2.0
6. How much longer will you continue using gas as a fuel source or feedstock for your business? Do you think your consumption of gas will decline over time, and if yes, at what rate?
Businesses will adapt to expensive gas by moving to alternate fuel sources i.e. biomass/biomethane or fuel oil
9. What role might carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) and negative emissions technologies (NETs) (for example direct air capture and carbon dioxide removal) play in decarbonising industrial processes that are hard to abate in your business or industry?
Nil
10. If your home or small business gas appliances (stove, heating, or hot water system) stop working, would you prefer to keep using gas or switch to an electric appliance?
Switch to all electric.
11. How can governments, industry and households work together to manage impacts for homes?
Victorian State Government policy decision to phase out new gas connections.
Rebate support for electrification programs
12. What do you see as the role of gas in Australia’s net zero transformation?
Given Victoria in particular has a high percentage of gas usage, gas consumption should decrease as the transition proceeds.
14. How can Australian LNG accelerate global decarbonisation without compromising energy security or affordability?
By reducing usage within Australia
15. What measures will increase the transparency of LNG supply chains, including their environmental, social and governance impacts?
End-to-end assessment of the gas supply chain.
16. Does current gas transport and storage infrastructure support the changing role of gas in the residential and commercial sector? If inadequate, what is needed and who should provide the change?
ACF Geelong remains opposed the proposed Viva Gas Terminal (and the Vopak terminal). On both environmental grounds and in the face of a declining gas demand market. The government intervention into export vs. domestic in 2023 indicated the is available existing capacity, despite call from industry around the wind-down of the Bass strait gas field.
28. How can Australia support the potential for cost-effective, safe, and verifiable CCS projects, including for the gas sector, other industries and our region?
Unlikely to proceed based on current technology.
30. How fit for purpose is Australia’s gas transmission and distribution network?
Gas leakage from ageing infrastructure is likely a significant issue, but goes largely unoticed.
31. What changes should be made to the transmission and distribution network to prepare for the changing profile of gas demand in Australia? What risks and opportunities would this entail?
As gas consumption declines there will need to be the staged abolishment of the network. This will require good planning and transition policies.
32. Could the construction of LNG import terminals contribute to improving energy security in Australia?
It is more about the balance of domestic production - export balance. We dont believe they have a significant influence on energy security, when we have ample gas reserves.
33. Under what conditions would LNG import terminals be commercially viable in Australia?
When you have customers prepared to sign up to gas supply contracts. This has not been evident at the proposed Pt Kembla terminal, and untested for the Viva/Vopak projects. Recent press indicates an proposed Adelaide terminal may have a supply partner in Origin energy.
36. Describe the projects or best practice examples of industry engagement with the local community, as well as the benefits these projects bring to the people and regional economy.
Viva was a case of how not to proceed.
38. What actions will assist workforce retention, upskilling and mobility in your community as the economy transitions to net zero emissions?
Up-skilling the workforce to enable the electrification of homes in regional centres like Geelong.
39. What are the risks to Australia’s domestic gas security in the medium (to 2035) to long-term (to 2050) for your industry and how can these be addressed?
It is difficult to gauge a true indication of the risk to security, because various interest groups inflate the risk to suit their perspective.
40. What do you see as the biggest risk to the ongoing affordability of Australia’s domestic gas supply? For example, what are risks to affordability in the wholesale or retail market?
Gas has become too highly priced due to international market pressure. This is a positive for the electrification pathway, and that will continue.
41. What reforms can be made at a Commonwealth, state, territory, or industry level to allow gas supply to be more responsive to domestic demand signals?
Intervention maybe required from time to time to ensure there is adequate domestic supply available.
42. What actions are available to lower gas costs, including substitution and new supply, to provide certainty to consumers? How would these actions further the Australian Government’s decarbonisation goals?
Leaving gas prices at market levels will be an enabler for the decarbonisation goals.
44. Do you use any forecasts of gas supply to inform your outlook of the gas market? If so, what are they?
AEMO & IEA