Australia imposes cap on gas prices despite industry protests

Australia’s officials decided to cap its domestic gas price, even with energy exporters speaking out against the new law. Such measures are aimed at bringing down rising power bills.

At Thursday's meeting, Australia's parliament approved a domestic gas price cap for the next 12 months. In addition to this, the price cap will also apply to domestic coal sales. With this move, mining companies could claim compensation if their gas and coal production costs are above the threshold. 

It proposed a gas price cap at 12 Australian dollars ($8) a gigajoule (a million British thermal units), which is above local prices but less than a third of international prices. The law also caps the domestic coal price at 125 Australian dollars ($86) per ton per year. Alongside this decision, officials agreed on a support package for low- and middle-income households through payments to states.