00:00At home in early autumn, Sonia Hicks doesn't have much need for gas.
00:08The retired physiotherapist lives in Pinjarra, south of Perth, and her gas bills at this
00:13time of the year are low.
00:14The last bill was $2 for the use of gas, which is basically just for heating saucepans of
00:22food is about $2 and the rest is $40, which is made up for their administrative costs.
00:32While Sonia Hicks' gas bills are low in March and April, it's a different story come wintertime
00:37when she and her husband rely heavily on a gas heater for warmth.
00:41Costs can be anywhere up to $700 a year.
00:44Being retired we do need it on during the day as well, so that probably doesn't help.
00:49We try and avoid putting it on until the evening, but sometimes it's just too cold.
00:55Those costs are set to increase further, courtesy of little-known changes washing their way through
00:59Australia's gas systems.
01:01Faced with declining use of their assets as more people switch to electricity, gas pipeline
01:06owners are fast-tracking the process of writing down the value of their networks.
01:10But instead of wearing the costs themselves, they're getting consumers to pick up the tab.
01:15What they're saying right now is households have to pay all the costs today, and we don't
01:19think that's fair.
01:20Under Australia's energy laws, gas pipeline owners can effectively pass on any costs deemed
01:25efficient by the regulators.
01:26In this case, critics say it's bringing forward billions in costs, and will add between $100
01:32and $200 to consumers' bills over the coming few years.
01:35And they warn the risks will grow larger as more people get off gas, and those left behind
01:40have to pick up ever-increasing costs.
01:43When you dig into it, it's actually the heart of the transition.
01:47If we don't get on top of this problem now, it becomes a much more difficult problem to
01:51solve into the future.
01:52Critics say Australia's gas network rules are unreasonable, and lead to consumers
01:57shouldering virtually all of the risks.
01:59But the companies that own the gas pipelines say the system is fair, and their returns are
02:05modest.
02:06When you invest in regulated utilities, there are trade-offs for investors and consumers,
02:12but we're dealing with an environment where the returns that investors receive is dictated
02:20by government.
02:21For Pinjarra retiree Sonia Hicks, the changes might just accelerate her transition away from
02:26the fuel.
02:27There is a finite point where you've got to say, hey, you know, you might have issues,
02:31but I can't afford your type of heating anymore.
02:35There is a lot of rain that is facing cold comfort ahead of winter.
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