The Federal Government’s Natural Gas Infrastructure Plan will be an important tool to assist in assessing options for addressing supply shortfalls, said Australian Pipelines and Gas Association (APGA) Chief Executive Officer, Steve Davies, on Tuesday.

Now under development, the plan would assist governments, market bodies and industry in assessing options for addressing any supply shortfalls, Mr Davies told the Australian Domestic Gas Outlook conference.

“Gas plays a critical role in Australian energy supply – providing 22.3 per cent of end-use energy and 20 per cent of all electricity,” Mr Davies said.

“And gas infrastructure delivers more for a lower cost than electricity: we estimate that gas infrastructure delivers from four to 10 times as much energy as electricity infrastructure for the same capital spend.”

“It also has the added capability of storing energy, with pipelines typically storing enough gas for two to three days of supply,” he said.

“It is clear that more investment is needed to ensure gas continues to provide the low-emission energy that heats our homes and offices and powers our industry and businesses.”

Mr Davies said the National Gas Infrastructure Plan suggests the government will focus on enabling investment across the energy sector.

“More investment will lead to more supply, more competition and more flexibility. This will support strong and healthy energy markets. Gas is no exception to this.”

“It is therefore important that other government processes now underway support the aims of the National Gas Infrastructure Plan and do not undermine them,” he said.

“For example, revision of regulatory requirements should concentrate on enabling investment.”

Due to strong interest from stakeholders the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources (DISER) has extended consultations on the Gas Fired Recovery Plan, including the National Gas Infrastructure Plan and establishing Wallumbilla as Australia’s Gas Hub, to 31 March 2021. Read more and have your say on the Consultation hub.

Mr Davies said APGA also encourages governments to continue facilitating the development of future fuels.

“Future fuels like hydrogen offer great opportunity to leverage existing gas infrastructure to deliver zero-carbon energy in the decades ahead,” he noted.

“As the largest industry contributor to the Future Fuels Cooperative Research Centre, APGA is fully committed to a future energy supply that includes decarbonised gas.”