{"id":949113,"date":"2026-11-01T20:34:55","date_gmt":"2026-11-01T20:34:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/949113\/"},"modified":"2026-11-01T20:34:55","modified_gmt":"2026-11-01T20:34:55","slug":"victoria-coalition-promises-quick-review-of-transmission-plans-as-it-soft-pedals-stance-on-renewables","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/949113\/","title":{"rendered":"Victoria Coalition promises quick review of transmission plans, as it soft pedals stance on renewables"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Davis, potentially Victoria\u2019s next energy minister if the Liberal-Nationals coalition wins November\u2019s state election, says he would demand a \u201cshort, sharp and independent\u201d review of the state\u2019s multi-billion dollar transmission plan but admits renewable energy would provide \u201cthe single biggest component\u201d of generation.<\/p>\n

In an address to the All Energy 2026 conference in Melbourne on Wednesday, Davis did not provide new policy announcements but offered generally conciliatory comments to an audience made up largely by firms supporting the energy transition off fossil fuels.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe electrification agenda is a very important one,\u201d Davis said, adding that \u201cthe energy security agenda is incredibly important\u201d as well.<\/p>\n

In a nod to the 12 years of Labor government in Victoria, Davis said that \u201cmuch has been achieved: the rollout of solar on a huge scale, additional wind capacity, additional battery and storage capacity has transformed much of our grid\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, most of this speech and in brief comments to Renew Economy afterwards, Davis criticised the pace and scope of the transition in Victoria, and emphasised the need for more gas. <\/p>\n

He did not, though, explain how adding more of the expensive fossil fuel would lower prices and did not mention climate or emissions save for his closing lines.<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s looming energy issues include the planned closure of the 1.48 gigawatts Yallourn coal-fired power station by mid-2028, placing a priority on new generation capacity coming on line.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want living standards to rise. We want to manage energy prices and their impact on families,\u201d Davis concluded. \u201cAt the same time, we are deeply, deeply aware of the need to focus on the reliability \u2013 reliability of the power supply \u2013 and on reducing emissions. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe people in this room are central to our job \u2026 to make it easier, faster, and more affordable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked when a Liberal-led government would complete the transmission review, Davis said he hadn\u2019t \u201cput an exact time on it\u201d, adding that he didn\u2019t \u201cintend to let the grass grow\u201d in what would be a months\u2019-long process.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve just pointed to [the All Energy conference] many of the projects that are some of them eight years behind time,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m just very heavy to push back on people who say, \u2018Oh, a delay,\u2019 but [the Labor government] were eight years behind time, and they\u2019ve said nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his speech, Davis cited at length an article in Monday\u2019s Herald Sun that tapped into what it dubbed as a leaked \u201cconfidential briefing paper\u201d on energy perpared for government department secretaries, no matter which party wins the 28 November elections.<\/p>\n

Headlined \u201cDire gas shortage warning\u201d, the article cited the leaked document as noting Victoria\u2019s gas demand is forecast to exceed annual production by 2029. \u201cIf shortfalls are not addressed, the implications for households and the Victorian economy are significant,\u201d the newspaper cited the report as saying.<\/p>\n

That projection, though, is not greatly different from the latest gas statement of opportunities<\/a> released by the Australian Energy Market Operator.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom 2030, projected supply gaps under most weather conditions indicate a need [in eastern Australia] for new supply in addition to that now classified as committed and anticipated, or more investment in demand-side opportunities to lower gas needs,\u201d the gas report said.<\/p>\n

Indeed, \u201c[g]as consumption across the residential and small commercial sectors is forecast to decline steadily, reflecting fewer active connections and the impact of projected electrification in response to market and policy drivers,\u201d the AEMO report states. <\/p>\n

\u201cBans on new gas connections in Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory contribute to lower forecast gas use, despite growth in new dwellings and economic activity, with 65% of the decline projected to take place in Victoria,\u201d it states.<\/p>\n

The Liberals have stated that reversing the gas connection ban would be a top priority in its first 100 days<\/a>, should it win government. \u201cReverse Labor\u2019s gas appliance bans and invite gas producers to propose conventional gas exploration opportunities to bring down power bills for Victorian homes and businesses,\u201d is the stated policy.<\/p>\n

Gas, though, would be expensive to extract, with few fields offering much promise, and insiders noting the absence of big companies bidding for drilling rights.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, Labor Premier Ben Carroll announced the government <\/a>had approved a production licence to restart the Patricia-Baleen gas fields off Victoria\u2019s Gippsland coast.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know Victoria\u2019s gas supplies are declining. That\u2019s why Labor is focused on securing the supply we do have and backing new sources of gas,\u201d Carroll said in the statement. The licence was granted to Cooper Energy, a subsidiary of Amplitude Energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe project is expected to deliver up to 15 petajoules of gas over its lifetime \u2013 equivalent to 7% of all gas used in Victoria last year,\u201d the premier said.<\/p>\n

To support independent media, and help combat the spread of deliberate misinformation and disinformation about the energy transition, you can click here to make a one off donation or become a regular supporter of Renew Economy.<\/a><\/p>\n

To join more than 29,000 others and get the latest clean energy news delivered straight to your inbox, for free, click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Peter Hannam is a veteran journalist whose work spans almost four decades and includes stints outside Australia, including time in China, Japan, Singapore and Mongolia. He has lately reported extensively on energy, climate and environmental issues in Australia, and also worked for the federal Climate Change Authority as a special media advisor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"David Davis, potentially Victoria\u2019s next energy minister if the Liberal-Nationals coalition wins November\u2019s state election, says he would…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":949114,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[64,63,75,128],"class_list":["post-949113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/949113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=949113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/949113\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/949114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=949113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=949113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=949113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}