The Victorian Liberal and National parties have announced that, if elected in November, they will scrap the Victoria to NSW Interconnector West project (VNI West).
But according to the Grattan Institute’s Alison Reeve, the plan to replace the high-voltage overhead electricity transmission lines with more gas doesn’t stack up. The problem? She argues the supply of gas doesn’t exist.
The background: Once complete, VNI West will run from Bulgana in Victoria’s west to Tragowel in the north before connecting with the NSW section north of Kerang.
Why do it? The project would connect Victoria to NSW to increase electricity flow between the states.
Director of Energy for the Grattan Institute, Alison Reeve, told the West Vic Brolga energy prices would be lowered if Victoria had access to surplus solar generation from NSW, particularly during cloudy periods when Victorians relied on expensive gas-fired power.
Gas shortage: The Liberals and Nationals have said more permits for gas exploration would be made available to increase the state’s supply. However, Reeve said she did not believe there would be enough gas available for a new development to significantly change supply.
🗣️ “You can explore all you like, but if the gas isn’t there, it’s not there,” she said. “This is one of the things about a finite resource, and gas is a finite resource. Once you’ve burned it up, it’s gone.”
Around 90 percent of Victoria's commercially-viable gas reserves have already been consumed, according to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
What about coal? If the project is cancelled and Victoria runs out of gas, the other option is coal-fired power.
🗣️ “The thing is, all coal-fired power stations in Victoria are privately owned, and the people who own those power stations have been very clear about how long they want to run them for,” Reeve said.
Gippsland’s Yallourn Power Station in the Latrobe Valley is set to shut down in mid 2028. Owner Energy Australia has repeatedly confirmed the station will close on schedule.
If coal is extended as a result, Reeve said, “it will be more expensive, and you’ll either see that on your electricity bill, or you’ll see it as a taxpayer”.
Groups weigh in: Farmers Fightback has been running a national campaign strongly opposing the project.
Founder Ben Duxon told the Brolga the group was created in February for “exactly this”.
Shut it down: “One purpose. Stop VNI West … Six months later both the Coalition and One Nation have committed to scrapping the project. That is the campaign doing precisely what it was built to do. None of it was an accident,” Duxon said.
Other problems bigger than transmission: Farmers for Climate Action has 1,900 farmer members in Victoria. The group conducted a survey with those members in early 2026, asking them the biggest pressures facing their day-to-day operations.
The farmers who responded listed dealing with natural disasters driven by climate change and water security as their main struggles - transmission was listed last.
This story has been localised from original reporting from the West Vic Brolga.