https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/energy-nation-forum-fire-up-gas-or-brace-for-shortages/news-story/cd0cd634563295a73d383646237d67c6

Energy Nation forum: ‘Fire up gas or brace for shortages’

Major energy players have warned that not enough gas projects are being built to avoid supply shortages, with Energy Minister Chris Bowen ruling out subsidies for the sector, saying operators make “a lot of money”.

Speaking at The Australian’s Energy Nation Forum on Wednesday, a string of energy leaders said the gas sector on the east coast was in a precarious position.

The market operator said in March that gas generators might be forced to burn diesel to keep the power grid running after authorities warned that states would face a catastrophic supply shortfall from next year unless new sources were developed.

Delta Group, which runs the Vales Point coal power station in NSW’s Hunter Valley, said the gas situation was very tight. “We’re right on the edge. We actually need to be building things now. We’re very, very tight,” Delta Group chief executive Richard Wrightson told the forum.

“If you’ve got a very strong green bent about you and you want this transition to occur, the worst thing that can happen right now is for the lights to go out and power prices to go up.”

Australia’s biggest gas pipeline operator, APA Group, was forced to put a major Queensland gas expansion on hold due to a regulatory clampdown and said government policies and regulation had the potential to freeze investment in gas.