<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/fossil-gas-death-spiral-regulator-sets-exit-fee-to-socialise-cost-of-mass-disconnection/>
"The Australian Energy Regulator has set a fixed exit fee for gas customers in
Victoria as part of a series of moves designed to address the accelerating
“death spiral” for fossil gas networks as households cut their connections as
part of the shift to electrify everything.
The prospect of the death spiral for gas, and how to manage it, has become a
key focus for policy makers, regulators and investors, and the new fee is
designed to put limits on the price that gas networks can charge customers who
quit the network.
In a notice of final decisions on gas access arrangements for the three
Victorian distribution networks – AusNet, Australian Gas Networks and Multinet
– the Australian Energy Regulator says the decisions it has made are as much
about safety as it is about social equity.
As
RenewEconomy and its sister site
One Step Off The Grid have reported,
households choosing to go all-electric and seeking to cutt ties to the gas
network have been advised of fees of nearly $1,000 or more.
This, the AER notes, has led to many households opting simply to close off the
supply of gas at the meter, rather than paying for the permanent abolishment of
the connection, through the removal of network assets and disconnection from
the mains.
This is not the safest option and also kicks the can down the road on the
inevitable cost of doing the job properly in the long term.
So the AER is proposing a set cost for abolishment that reduces the upfront
payment from the disconnecting household and spreads the remaining cost to the
network company across all gas users.
“To reduce the price difference between the two disconnection services, and the
safety risks it appears to be creating, this final decision retains an upfront
cost of $220 for connection abolishment and shares the remainder between all
customers,” the decision says."
We paid the $220 fee to have our gas connection permanently abolished.
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
