Victorian gas bills could spike after a supplier applied to have customers cover the accelerated shift to electrical appliances.
AusNet services, which owns electrical and gas infrastructure in Victoria, has called on the Australian Energy Regulator to approve $70 million in extra charges over three years for gas customers to compensate an accelerated depreciation of assets.
The energy provider said its submission was due to state government policy, which included a ban on new gas connections in new builds and up-front charges for new connections on existing builds from January 2025.
The Victorian government is also consulting a potential ban on gas appliances in rental properties.
"AusNet submitted that, in light of the above Victorian Government initiatives and changing context for its provision of gas distribution services, the transition away from gas will further accelerate," the Australian Energy Regulator wrote in a release.
AusNet projects the cost to the average consumer to be $49 each year for the rest of the 2023-28 access period.
It would net the company an extra $90.8 million in revenue and would lift the amount of accelerated depreciation it could recover from customers from $105 million to $175 million.
The regulator has invited submissions on the application, which will include a response from the Victorian government, state Energy Minister Lily D'Ambrosio said.
"We are not about allowing these privatised businesses to get away with reaping super profits off the back of Victorian households and businesses," Ms D'Ambrosio said.
"Our interests are squarely with Victoria."
The minister noted most proposals by suppliers to charge more generally overshot what the companies eventually hoped to receive.
Opposition energy spokesman David Davis said any increase in gas costs would hit Victorians already struggling with soaring living costs.
"Businesses that rely on gas will pay more to maintain the network as Labor pushes its plan to cut households off gas," Mr Davis said.
"Victorians who choose gas are being forced to pay for having their energy source of choice denied, blocked and banned."
Mr Davis claimed most Victorians "overwhelmingly" wanted to keep gas, which was debated by Ms D'Ambrosio.
"We've seen a great number of Victorians swapping out their gas powered hot water systems for electric ones because they know it saves them money off their bills," she said.
Victoria has renewable energy targets of 65 per cent by the end of the decade, and 95 per cent by 2035.
In the financial year to July 2024, renewables accounted for 37.8 per cent of generation across the state, according a government progress report released on Thursday.
Earlier in 2024, the state opted to fast-track renewable energy projects as significant economic development, controversially removing the right to third party appeals via the state's civil and administrative tribunal.
