New energy plan a far cry from 'CoalKeeper', Rattenbury says

But Mr Rattenbury is confident the model being designed is far removed from the "CoalKeeper" plan pushed by former federal energy minister Angus Taylor.

New Energy Minister Chris Bowen and his state and territory counterparts this week agreed to fast-track the introduction of a so-called "capacity mechanism", as part of a package of measures aimed at combating future energy crises.

The mechanism would require retailers to pay energy providers to maintain capacity in the system, helping to ensure reliability amid the transition to renewables.

Mr Taylor had been pushing to use the mechanism to prevent the closure of coal-fired stations, sparking a backlash from a number of his state and territory counterparts, including Mr Rattenbury.

With Mr Bowen now at the helm, ministers have agreed the mechanism should support renewables and storage.

But the new federal minister hasn't explicitly ruled out it also being able to support coal and gas plants.

Mr Bowen said the Energy Security Board would release a draft for consultation in the coming days, before ministers had the final say.

Mr Rattenbury told The Canberra Times that the ACT government remained opposed to using the mechanism to prop up coal-fired power stations.

But while details are still being thrashed out, the ACT Greens leader was confident the model was different to the one Mr Taylor had been advocating for.

"I'm encouraged by the wording of the [meeting] communiqué, which puts a priority on bringing renewables and storage into the market," he said.

"I think we've come a long way from where the capacity mechanism started ... I feel like we're moving in the right direction, but there is still a lot of details to be sorted out."

The ministers agreed to 11 actions at this week's emergency meeting, including handing the Australian Energy Market Operator new powers to purchase and store gas to prevent future shortages.

It also agreed to develop a national roadmap to guide the energy sector's transition to net zero.

Mr Rattenbury supported the plan, including timeframes for the retirement of coal-fired power stations - saying it would help investors, industry and communities plan for the future.

"This is not controversial [the retirement of coal-fired power stations], it is going to happen," he said.

"The only question is: is it going to happen in a chaotic way, or is it going to happen in a well-organised way?"

Meanwhile, the federal government has announced an urgent review of the "trigger" designed to shore up domestic gas supplies.

Resources Minister Madeleine King said "nothing was off the table" in a review aimed at avoiding a repeat of the gas shortages which have struck Australia's east coast.

As wholesale gas prices surged, the new government faced immediate pressure to pull the trigger on a mechanism - introduced under former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull - which would force companies to restrict exports when domestic shortages arise.

The government cautioned that the intervention wasn't a quick fix, because even if it was pulled it wouldn't come into effect until next year.

With the tool due to expire, Ms King said cabinet had agreed to renew the trigger to ensure it could be used in the future.

Asked if the review would consider slashing the time it takes to activate the trigger, Ms King said: "Nothing's off the table."

"Right now it [the mechanism] is a long and complicated, convoluted, ineffective mechanism that takes a very long time for it to produce results," she said.

"We are determined to change that."