{
  "id": 3141377,
  "title": "Battery boom crushes gas cartel in the nick of time",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/battery-boom-crushes-gas-cartel-in-the-nick-of-time",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-24T23:30:43.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "MacroBusiness",
    "slug": "macrobusiness",
    "url": "https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2026/08/battery-boom-crushes-gas-cartel-in-the-nick-of-time/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Europe finds itself in a gas crisis, with the region facing a shortfall for the winter season. The situation has been exacerbated by Qatari blockages, leading to sky-high LNG prices in both Asia and Europe. In light of this predicament, a price-driven solution has begun to emerge, as higher European gas prices (TTF) are now necessary to curb demand for Asia LNG, freeing up additional cargoes for export to Europe and aiding in managing gas storage levels.\n\nThis price mechanism started to take shape in late July and has since strengthened. As TTF surged, pushing Asia LNG spot prices (JKM) upward, the demand for Asia LNG softened, causing the JKM-TTF premium to decline. Consequently, flexible US LNG supply has become more attractive for shipping to Europe rather than Asia, driving up European LNG imports.\n\nHowever, this approach has not yet been sufficient to stabilize European gas storage injections. As of August, injections have yet to meet expectations, leaving NW European gas storage at 51% full, which is 3.4 percentage points below the baseline case forecast.\n\nThe situation has led to TTF prices surpassing the 65 EUR/MWh threshold, pushing JKM to the mid-$20s/mmBtu. This level has historically prompted a reduction in Asia's industrial gas demand. The Albanese government is anticipated to accommodate the gas industry's demands regarding its domestic reservation scheme, while maintaining its commitment to keeping more gas in the domestic market than would otherwise be available, despite industry concerns that artificially inflating supply could deter investment in new supply.\n\nWhile the government is not projected to back away from its overarching goal of ensuring more gas in the domestic market than would naturally exist, the energy landscape is undergoing a significant transformation. The battery boom is reshaping the energy sector, as grid-scale batteries have surged into the National Electricity Market (NEM), making up 2% of power, half the scale of gas. With this surge in battery capacity, the gas cartel's ability to set the marginal cost of electricity has diminished.\n\nBatteries have become the dominant price setter, outperforming gas, especially during evening peak demand. Moreover, the competition among batteries is fierce, further solidifying their dominance in the market. This shift in power dynamics spells trouble for vertically integrated gas-export and local power suppliers like Origin Energy, as their power to manipulate electricity prices is fading away, thanks to the batteries and the gas cartel's self-serving price hikes.",
  "summary": "A new global gas shock is underway as Qatari blockages have left Europe short of gas for the winter. LNG prices in Asia and Europe are now at their highest point since the war began Goldman has more. We have argued that, in the absence of an improvement in LNG exports through the Strait of The post Battery boom crushes gas cartel in the nick of time appeared first on MacroBusiness .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}