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Treasurer Jim Chalmers can't say when he expects power bills to come down, as the energy regulator warns time is running out to bring the national energy crisis under control.
Key points:
- Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the government is "always recalibrating" price expectations
- The government is considering imposing a price cap on gas
- The energy regulator has told the government it must act before the end of November
The federal government has been under growing pressure to offer households financial relief, following forecasts in last week's budget that power prices would increase by 50 per cent in the next two years.
But questioned on when prices may peak, Mr Chalmer said they would "moderate in time".
"We're always recalibrating our expectations for electricity price rises," he said.
"We've got a war in Ukraine which is hanging around and is entrenched far more than anybody predicted at the time of the election, the impact on energy prices is more sustained and far more extreme than people expected earlier in the year."
He told the ABC's Insiders program he was "contemplating the kinds of steps that perhaps governments wouldn't have contemplated a year or two ago".
The government has tasked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to review the voluntary code of conduct between gas suppliers and users, with a view to making it mandatory.
Mr Chalmers said the government was "considering" whether to insert a price cap into the agreement.
"We've said that we will make that code of conduct mandatory and we'll make it more focused on meaningful offers and that means going beyond supply and considering issues like price," he said.
Liberal senator Michaelia Cash said earlier on Sunday that a price cap would discourage new supply.
Ms Cash accused the government of cutting funding for two exploration projects in the budget.
"You cannot talk about price caps if you are not at the same time saying 'we are going to address the supply of gas coming into the market', and in fact what you saw in the budget was the exact opposite," she said.
"The one thing they are failing to address, and which internationally it is shown you must address, is bringing further gas into the market."
Energy regulator sets deadline
Underlining the urgency of any such intervention, the ABC has confirmed, Clare Savage, the chair of the Australian Energy Regulator, warned the federal government if it was going to impose a price cap, it must do so before the end of November.
Sky News reported on Sunday that Ms Savage told Energy Minister Chris Bowen that energy contracts for next year would be finalised in the coming months.
Ms Savage also warned that addressing the soaring price of coal, in addition to gas, would be needed to bring down household energy bills.
Mr Chalmers said the government would consider "sensible" and "responsible" measures, but his preference was to use market intervention as opposed to budgetary handouts.