The $33m project was approved in 2018 by authorities but AGN has found it is uneconomic at the moment.“This decision is unfortunate but unavoidable as the regulatory framework currently does not deliver sufficient returns on new investment to finance such a significant extension of the network,” Australian Gas Infrastructure Group chief executive Ben Wilson said.“We acknowledge that this will be disappointing for customers and stakeholders who would have benefited from the extension of the network.”AGN general manager for people and strategy Craig de Laine said the payback was too long for the capital needed for the project.“But it’s something we’ll always look at and continue to keep alive,” he said.“Hopefully if returns do improve, we can go back there.”AGN, which is a subsidiary of the Australian Gas Infrastructure Group, is in the process of negotiating with the Australian Energy Regulator which will determine how much it can earn and invest from July 1 this year to June 30, 2026.Despite stalling on Mount Barker, the company wants to invest $529m over the five years, which would include laying 770km of new plastic piping to replace all the ageing cast iron, unprotected steel and early generation plastic pipes.Energy and Mining Minister Dan van Holst Pellekaan told the regulator the government initially had doubts that the pipeline replacement program was necessary and prudent.However, after independent analysis and consultation with the government’s technical office, Mr van Holst Pellekaan now supported the program.Mr de Laine said having new piping would improve safety.It also would future-proof the network for hydrogen because plastic is not susceptible to becoming brittle and cracking like metal exposed to hydrogen. AGN is building a hydrogen plant at Tonsley to trial blending the gas in a trial supplying homes in Mitchell Park.AGN wants to earn $1.066bn in revenue.It says residential customers this financial year will pay on average $520 for gas distribution, which is about half the annual household bill.It proposes to cuts this by $41, then $26 and $10 over the next three financial years, followed by increases of $7 and $24 – delivering a net cut of $46 by the end of the five-year period.AGN also wants to establish a dedicated vulnerable customer assistance program.“This will allow us to better identify households in difficulty and assist them earlier,” Mr de Laine said.The Energy and Water Ombudsman SA supported the bid to create the program.“We see much evidence of the challenges some customers are facing in SA and believe that supporting vulnerable customers is a high priority for the energy and water sector,” EWOSA executive Jo de silva said.The SA Council of Social Service supported the concept but said customers may be more inclined to work with their retailer.SACOSS chief executive Ross Womersley also called for AGN to continue a leadership role in helping consumers understand the complex issues around hydrogen or going all-electric in the trajectory to reduce emissions, and how some consumers who cannot afford to make the transition could be left carrying costs of stranded assets.The regulator is scheduled to announce its decision next month.Scientific evidence and popular opinion on climate change are at odds, here’s how to sort the fact from the fiction.



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