Residents in Regional Town Forced to Use Gas Bottles as Network Faces Decommissioning

‘Albany is a city of nearly 40,000 people. It’s embarrassing that we are looking at making everyone use gas bottles,’ said a local resident.

Caravan park residents moves their gas bottles close to the beach in Melbourne, Australia, on Dec. 27, 2015. Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

Residents in a regional town in Western Australia (WA) are protesting a private gas company’s decision to decommission the town’s gas network.

On Jan. 19, ATCO Australia announced that it would shut down the reticulated gas network in Albany, located about 400 kilometres south-east of Perth, citing the high cost of upgrading and repairing the ageing infrastructure.