ESAA Chief Executive Officer Brad Page has said that natural gas availability at the domestic level has been well recognised as an important issue for Western Australia, as natural gas is the most significant fuel for electricity generation, and a source upon which large-scale industry also relies.

“Given Western Australia’s critical supply shortage issues, we have suggested that until underlying market failure issues, as well as more competitive regulatory and taxation arrangements are put in place, a domestic gas reservation policy may be a necessary tool to secure domestic gas supply,” Mr Page said.

The ESAA WA Energy Market Study says that a pathway for an efficient energy market in Western Australia could be achieved through balancing the roles of government, the private sector and the markets.

“In the longer term, a strategic market based approach to policy implementation specifically addressing the market failures that have arisen would better promote a secure, reliable and competitive supply of gas in Western Australia. Such an approach would address the structural issues that have contributed to the state’s domestic gas shortage and enable competitive market outcomes to prevail,” Mr Page said.

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Mr Page said that the "small and isolated nature" of the Western Australian energy market creates difficulties for energy policy to navigate, so markets should be the primary mechanism for co-ordinating an appropriate response to energy production and consumption issues.