THE federal government is vowing to crack down on gas retailers who put profit ahead of customers.
Energy Minister Angus Taylor is due to order gas retailers to pump the brakes on prices during a speech at the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia National Small Business Summit in Melbourne on Friday.
"The price of gas is too high. The recent ACCC report that identified $10 plus gas in Victoria and 26 per cent retail margins, is a wakeup call for Australia," Mr Angus will state.
"I won't apologise for being hard on the retailers - I consider gas to be a utility business and I expect margins that are appropriate for a utility.
"As we have shown through our introduction of price caps in electricity - this government is not afraid to act."
The government will also closely look at recommendations from the ACCC report, he added.
The rollout of the government's policies had driven reliability into the system and ensured wholesale prices came down.
"Average wholesale prices across SA, Vic, NSW and QLD for the months of July and August were around $20/MWh cheaper in 2019 than comparable prices in 2017," he added.
Australian Associated Press
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