<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/governments-urged-to-share-costs-of-gas-network-death-spiral-as-rule-maker-lays-down-the-law/>
"Gas customers will stop subsidising the cost of their electrified neighbours
quitting the network over the next six years, as rules to make abolishments
“cost-reflective” come in.
The headline change in the Australian Energy Market Commission’s (AEMC) final
rules for handling the death spiral of gas networks will require consumers
wanting to abolish gas connections entirely – removing the meter and ripping
out all of the piping connecting a property to the network – to pay a
“cost-reflective” rate.
Currently, some states cap this fee which means the rest of the cost of digging
up pipes and removing meters is spread across the remaining customers in a gas
network.
The other key change is that distributors will need to actively tell their
customers how to quit gas, via term explanations and model costs on their
websites.
The need for rules to manage the decline is becoming urgent.
Residential and commercial gas use is rapidly declining due to a combination of
government policies, such as Victoria’s Gas Substitution Roadmap, and household
electrification as rebates and high fossil fuel bills encourage people to make
the switch.
The Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) most recent Gas Statement of
Opportunities (GSOO) expects residential and commercial demand to fall by 80
per cent over the next two decades on the east coast.
The AEMC is urging governments to get their policy house in order, saying a
plan to decommission gas networks will be more efficient than an ad hoc
approach to disconnections.
The new rule also sets guardrails for how distributors price connection
abolishments."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
