The ABC has another infuriating tale of treasonous and criminal behaviour by the gas cartel.
Read the below and tell me this is not a cartel committing treason and commercial fraud.
No business should be allowed to hold national resources hostage.
It’s time to make refusal to supply gas a criminal offense, to arrest some gas “villains”, and throw them into the nearest dungeon.
Over to you, Chicken Chalmers. Time to restructure a market for social impact.
Major industry groups representing Australian manufacturers have accused the gas industry of getting around the federal government’s gas price controls by withholding supply, leaving some businesses at risk of closure.
East coast gas producers have effectively suspended new sales since the federal government announced 12-month price controls in December for the gas and coal wholesale market.
The government’s intervention came after Australian energy prices — which are linked to the international market — soared last year as Russia’s war in Ukraine drove demand and delivered record profits to producers.
Since December, energy retailers and large wholesale customers who buy directly from gas producers have struggled to find new gas deals.
The supply squeeze is affecting uncontracted commercial and industrial customers.
…One member of the Energy Users Association of Australia, which represents some of the nation’s biggest manufacturers, was unable to secure a single new gas offer.
“The prices can be in the $30 to $40 a gigajoule range, when traditionally, we’ve been paying between $6 and $7 [a gigajoule],” Energy Users Association of Australia chief executive Andrew Richards says, adding some offers have been as high as $60 a gigajoule.
…AiGroup’s chief executive Innes Willox says his organisation’s members are also still grappling with unfair gas prices.
“There is enormous frustration at how things have turned out,” Mr Willox says.
“There’s hardly any gas flowing to new customers in 2023 … And bad luck if you’re looking for a contract for 2024 onwards, it is just radio silence.”
…The Australia Energy Council (AEC), which represents energy retailers, has also voiced frustration on behalf of its members.
Acting chief executive Ben Barnes says retailers are reporting they can not get enough gas to take on new commercial and residential customers.
“It’s quite widespread at the moment,” Mr Barnes says.
…About 90 per cent of Australia’s east coast gas is controlled by three exporters — Shell, Origin and Santos.
Last month, the ACCC warned of a 2023 east coast gas shortage, despite the regulator finding the LNG producers have enough uncontracted gas to prevent a domestic shortfall.
…A spokesman for the ACCC told The Business there was no deadline for other gas producers to resume supply for uncontracted sales.
…”It certainly looks like an oligopoly,” Andrew Richards from the Energy Users Association of Australia says.
“There’s plenty of gas around. It’s whether they want to sell it at a fair and reasonable price is the key question that needs to be asked here.
“Their belligerent behaviour in the gas industry will see many businesses go broke and mums and dads too scared to turn the gas heater on next winter — that’s an appalling position.”
…The ongoing price pain for gas users comes as the federal government works on a mandatory code of conduct for the domestic gas market.
Submissions closed on Tuesday and the code is expected to be finalised in 2023.
A major sticking point is expected to be how the government regulates reasonable pricing, when gas producers have become used to being able to charge customers whatever they like.
Industry groups say the gas industry is playing a game of chicken with the federal government by withholding supply for new contracts.
…As gas users, producers and the federal government thrash it out over the future of Australia’s gas market, the Energy Users Association of Australia’s Andrew Richards is still hopeful a solution can be found.
“We’ve been saying to them [east coast gas producers] for a long time… ‘This is a life-changing moment for many Australian companies … You can be heroes and offer them fair and reasonable pricing,'” Mr Richards says
“‘Or you can be the villain and be belligerent and price gouging.
“Now up to this point in time, they have been the latter.”
