AGL Energy (ASX:AGL) said it supported the Australian Energy Market Commission's (AEMC) proposal to establish a regulatory framework for retail customer-initiated gas abolishment, according to a Tuesday statement.

The firm said its position was that customers should have the right to select the disconnection option that best suits their circumstances, while gas distributors maintain responsibility for network safety. It supports the intent of the AEMC's draft determination and the preferred draft rule, as well as the introduction of cost‑reflective abolishment charges for gas customers.

Without a clear cost‑recovery mechanism, costs associated with maintaining the safety of the network risk are being "shifted inefficiently and inequitably" from gas network customers to retailers' customers, it added.

The firm noted that electrification is the most likely decarbonization pathway for residential consumers, and where electrification is not feasible, AGL supports the development of low-carbon alternatives such as biomethane to support the transition to a low-carbon economy.