A decline in the number of gas customers in the ACT may threaten the economic viability of the network up to a decade before the territory is set to shut it off, a new government position paper suggests.
The paper sets out how the government intends to reach a net-zero emissions goal by 2045, with community consultation opened on an integrated energy plan.
"Under current policy settings, the gas network is expected to remain an important energy source for the next 10-15 years and will remain economically viable until the mid-2030s," the position paper said.
"After this time the decline in customers and gas demand may put pressure on the economic viability of the network remaining in its current form."
The paper said the territory would consider alternative uses for the gas distribution network.
"These could include limited applications of green gases for niche applications, likely for specific industrial applications," the paper said.
The paper said gas prices would start to increase more rapidly between 2035 and 2040 as more consumers switch their appliances to electric.
Gas connections for new houses in the ACT were banned in June, while the government announced in August 2022 gas would be turned off in 2045.
The government believes more fixed-price and low-cost renewable energy contracts would help keep power bills in the ACT lower while also overhauling the grid as part of wide scale electrification efforts.
The increased demand for electricity, as gas use drops, will require more capacity in the electricity grid.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr said part of the government's intention was to map out an efficient way to augment the electricity grid to cope with higher expected demand using the most efficient and cheapest new energy supplies.
"Clearly renewable energy storage ... I think is an opportunity to insulate consumers from some of the spikes over high-demand periods," Mr Barr said.
"And we need to be smart about the location of batteries. We need to, you know, reflect across our suburban energy network where we might need to augment."
Mr Barr said some big energy users - such as depots for the territory's planned electric bus fleet - would need to be located strategically.
Emissions Reduction Minister Shane Rattenbury said the government was focused on the notion of a fair and equitable transition.
"We are very conscious that this is a big change for our community," Mr Rattenbury said.
"And the government is particularly focused on ensuring those on lower incomes in the community, those who perhaps live in more complex buildings where technical information is not available at the moment or solutions are not self evident - that the government particularly assists in those spaces."
Meanwhile, the ACT Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission on Tuesday released an issues paper as part of consultation on how it will set retail electricity prices in the three years from July 1, 2024.
"The ACT government has asked the commission to ensure that the methodology we use provides a reasonable price for small customers, while balancing the competitiveness of the retail electricity market," the commission said.
Feedback on the issues paper is open until August 31, with the commission expected to release its draft decision governing regulated electricity plans in January 2024.
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