Miners in talks with Australian state over new coal export limit – by Lewis Jackson and Sonali Paul (Reuters – January 20, 2023)

https://www.reuters.com/

SYDNEY, Jan 20 (Reuters) – Major coal producers are in talks with the government of New South Wales, Australia’s most populous state, over its surprise plan to have miners reserve up to 10% of production for domestic supply, as part of efforts to curb soaring energy costs.

The talks will review what the shortfalls are and how miners can fill them without disrupting supply chains. Early signs point to a limited impact on coal producers though, as there are limited spot supplies to be requisitioned under the rule.

Australia is seeking to drive down costs for households by capping gas and coal prices, which soared last year partly due to the Ukraine war and domestic factors. The New South Wales government is trying to boost the effort on the coal front by beefing up domestic supply of coal, most of which gets exported.

Australia’s Labor government led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in December passed legislation to cap natural gas prices for one year, and secured agreements from the coal producing states of New South Wales and Queensland to cap the price of coal sold to power plants.

For the rest of this article: https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/miners-talks-with-australian-state-over-new-coal-export-limit-2023-01-20/#:~:text=SYDNEY%2C%20Jan%2020%20(Reuters),to%20curb%20soaring%20energy%20costs.