Submission: Australian Energy Market Commission – Establishing a regulatory framework for retail customer initiated gas abolishment

9 January 2026
 

To: Australian Energy Market Commission
Re: Establishing a regulatory framework for retail customer initiated gas abolishment
 

Thank you for the opportunity for the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) to provide input to the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC)’s draft rule change: Establishing a regulatory framework for retail customer initiated gas abolishment.

IEEFA is an independent energy finance think tank that examines issues related to energy markets, trends and policies. The Institute’s mission is to accelerate the transition to a diverse, sustainable and profitable energy economy.

In IEEFA’s view, and in alignment with our submission to the initiation of this draft rule change, the AEMC should focus on ensuring this rule change request supports the following key outcomes: 

• Any financial disincentives for customers to safely leave the gas network should be minimised;
• Decommissioning of gas distribution infrastructure should be undertaken in the most long-term, cost-efficient manner; and
• Reforms to gas network regulation should be implemented on a timeline commensurate with the likely rapid decline in residential gas demand.

We are glad to see that a number of elements in the AEMC’s draft determination move in the right direction to support these outcomes. However, we also observe several key remaining gaps in the current proposal that could hinder these outcomes. To resolve these, we recommend the AEMC require gas disconnection to be a reference service that can be contestable, and adopt a faster implementation timeline, in line with other recent gas rule change determinations.

We have provided further details on these points in the following pages. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to discuss these matters further.

Kind regards,

Jay Gordon, Energy Finance Analyst, Australian Electricity, IEEFA