The Nationals’ Member for Northern Victoria Gaelle Broad has again pressured the Minister for Energy and Resources over the removal of compressed natural gas (CNG) services from 10 regional Victorian communities, warning residents are being left out of pocket and running out of time.
Ms Broad told Parliament the Labor Government was made aware of delivery issues by Solstice Energy three years ago.
“Despite the government being informed of the issues with delivery by Solstice in 2023, the government has now left residents facing increased costs, limited time to change over and no compensation for the removal of the service, despite the contract being cut short 10 years early.
“Solstice is covering the cost of like-for-like appliances for customers moving to LPG, but the government’s rebate system for electric appliances is overly complicated, with variable rebates causing confusion.
“Time is running out for residents, with plans to cut off the service.”
Ms Broad asked the Minister to confirm how many of the 1183 affected customers were yet to transition and what steps the government was taking to ensure no resident or business was left worse off due to the removal of this essential service.
“The government must ensure residents and businesses are compensated for the removal of this service and not left out of pocket,” Ms Broad said.
