Latest news with #energyreview
News.com.au
30-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Chris Bowen flags greater government intervention in energy markets with Gas Market Review
Labor will consider forcing gas companies to redirect future supplies into the domestic market instead of selling to international markets, with Energy Minister Chris Bowen launching a review into Australia's gas market. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission warned on Monday Australia's east coast gas supply outlook has further deteriorated, with risks of a shortfall beginning from the fourth quarter of 2025 and into 2026 set to increase if 'Queensland LNG producers export all uncontracted gas'. This is because southern states like NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania will need to 'continually rely on gas from Queensland as their local reserves deplete,' the ACCC's interim Gas Inquiry report, published on Monday, warned. The ACCC says tipped 'structural shortfalls' on the east coast will continue from 2028 unless new gas supplies are brought online. The government's Gas Market Review will look at how regulations can be improved to ensure affordable and adequate domestic gas supply, with Mr Bowen flagging the importance of gas as a firming power, alongside renewable energy, which will make up 82 per cent of Australia's grid. However, he said existing commercial contracts with international partners will be protected. Australia is one of the world's largest liquid natural gas exporters with export earnings reaching a record $92.8bn in 2023. 'One thing we won't contemplate is ripping up existing contracts, creating sovereign risk, engaging in behaviours which will see Australia (considered) as an unreliable supply. 'We won't be doing that, but what we will be looking at is sensible, forward looking, prospective means to ensure that Australians get access to their gas.' While Mr Bowen wouldn't be drawn on whether this would mean ramping up gas supplies, or creating an East Coast Gas Reserve, he said it was a 'reasonable request' to ensure 'Australian users get access to Australian gas'. The review will also look at consolidating the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism, Gas Market Code and Heads of Agreement with major east coast gas exporters to 'holistically' ensure policy can support the 'efficient supply of gas to industrial users, domestic users, and to the energy system'. Separately, Mr Bowen also commented on Adelaide's bid to host climate conference Cop31 in 2026, with negotiations at a standstill due as Turkey also pitches for the rights. The McMahon MP said while the bidding issue 'has not yet been resolved,' Australia had the support of the Western Europe Group. He also declined to give an estimated cost for the event, but said there would be 'revenue opportunities' through sponsorship and attendance fees. 'This is a remarkable opportunity for Australia. It's the world's largest trades fair,' he said. 'It gives us an opportunity to talk to the world about Australia's capacity to help them decarbonise. 'It's a remarkable opportunity for the Pacific (to) put their issues on the table. If and when we're successful, of course, we'll have more to say about costs.'
CTV News
20-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Date determined for first public information session of NB Power review
The first public information session for the review of NB Power has been scheduled. The session will be held on Wednesday via Zoom and can accommodate up to 5,000 participants, on a first-come, first-served basis. First announced in April, the review will be led by energy infrastructure and investment executive Michael Bernstein, lawyer and former privacy commissioner Anne E. Bertrand and utility expert Duncan Hawthorne. The trio will be responsible for gathering and analyzing data, speaking with members of the public, and developing recommendations for the utility moving forward based on their findings. 'This comprehensive review is a great opportunity to truly learn a great deal more about NB Power and, specifically, how well it is positioning itself for the future,' said Bertrand in a news release from the New Brunswick government. The province says the session will be recorded and made available on the review website. 'While participants will not have access to audio comments or video during the sessions, people are welcome to ask questions via the chat feature. Simultaneous translation will be provided,' reads the release. Details about future sessions will be shared in the weeks ahead, according to the government. The call for the review comes as utility bills continue to rise steeply across New Brunswick. The team leads say any recommendations made following the review will be heavily influenced by the voices and opinions of NB Power customers. New Brunswickers can share questions or concerns related to the review by emailing NBPReview-ExamenENB@ Final recommendations and any decisions related to the review aren't expected until March 2026. With files from CTV Atlantic's Avery MacRae. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
CBC
23-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Holt Liberals pick 3 leaders for N.B. Power review
Social Sharing The Holt government has announced the names of the three people who will lead a major review into the future of N.B. Power. Two energy sector veterans and a former legislative watchdog will oversee the process, which will include public consultations and which is expected to wrap up with recommendations by next March. It's a thorny task that must reconcile the public appetite for affordable power rates with the utility's need to undertake multibillion-dollar power station projects while managing a debt that now exceeds $5 billion. "I know enough about the people in New Brunswick to know the will and strength of spirit," said Duncan Hawthorne, a former CEO of Bruce Power in Ontario and one of the three review leaders. "We've just to line it up in the right place. "And the way to do that is to talk about options and have people buy into those, because it cannot be achieved without support. … There's a number of things that people will have to do in every single household in New Brunswick to make this transition work." But Anne Bertrand, another review leader and a former provincial information and privacy commissioner who later sat on N.B. Power's board, said the recommendations will not be hostage to public opinion. "The public does not have a veto," she told reporters. "Comments and opinions will be taken into consideration, and are very important. We need to know what the expectations are. But the expectations can't dictate what the future of N.B. Power will be." Michael Bernstein, the third appointee and a former CEO and investment fund manager in the energy sector, said the review team would point out the positives and negatives of each of its recommendations. "Ultimately, it's up to the government and, really, New Brunswickers to decide what direction to take," he said. Premier Susan Holt launched the review in the wake of a controversy over a perceived spike in the January power bills of some N.B. Power customers. While that phenomenon has been explained by an independent audit, the utility has acknowledged it faces deeper, longer-term problems. These include the need for a multibillion dollar overhaul of the Mactaquac Dam, west of Fredericton, the utility's largest hydroelectric generating station. The Point Lepreau nuclear plant in southern New Brunswick has also faced costly shutdowns, and the Belledune generating station in the north must be converted from coal burning to comply with federal climate policies. Holt has not ruled out selling the utility, as a previous Liberal government tried to do in 2009, as one possible outcome of the review. "We have not restricted the three leaders on discussing anything," Energy Minister René Legacy said Friday. "If that's what New Brunswickers want to discuss, then we should have an open discussion about it, and put the subject to bed one way or another." Hawthorne, who as CEO of Bruce Power oversaw one of the world's largest nuclear power sites, said the process will not be "a talking shop, where we will tell you what we're doing. We're really going to spend a fair amount of time listening to you." Legacy said the review process would be covered by his department's budget, and the government committed to release more information soon about what the three review leaders will be paid. The government is promising not only recommendations but a decision on those recommendations by March 31, 2026.
