MELBOURNE, March 26 (Reuters) - Australia on Tuesday picked a dozen power projects, including natural gas, pumped hydropower and one coal-fired plant, to receive backing under the sitting government's program to increase power supply and bring down energy prices.
The announcement came a week ahead of the government's final budget and a national election due in May, where soaring power prices and the transition to cleaner energy are expected to be major issues.
The 12 projects, which would add 3,818 megawatts of new power, were culled from 66 that applied for assistance under the government's plan to underwrite new generation, according to a statement from the office of Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
The underwriting program, first proposed in December after the government last August scrapped a more comprehensive energy plan, aims to beef up firm power supply to back up renewables and drive down wholesale power prices by up to 30 percent by 2021.
The government has not said how much the program will cost or what backing it would provide, but the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission last year recommended the government could provide contracts to buy power to help the projects secure financing.
The government's budget on April 2 could shed more light on funding for at least some of the projects, such as the Battery of the Nation pumped hydro energy storage project proposed by Hydro Tasmania. Pumped hydropower involves pumping water into reservoirs for release later when electricity demand increases.
Companies that made the shortlist for underwriting assistance included Alinta Energy, owned by Hong Kong's Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, Australia's biggest natural gas transporter APA Group APA.AX , and SIMEC Zen Energy, backed by billionaire Sanjeev Gupta's GFG Alliance.
The list included an upgrade for a coal-fired plant run by privately owned Delta Electricity.
"Our approach has always been to have an agnostic approach when it comes to the fuel source," Prime Minister Morrison told reporters in Brisbane, according to a transcript emailed from his office.
The government said it rejected applications from the country's biggest generators and energy retailers as it is seeking to boost competition in the power market.
At the same time, Morrison committed A$10 million ($7 million) to study power supply options to support heavy industries in Queensland, the government statement said.
The supply study was likely added in response to calls from the National Party of Australia, part of Morrison's governing coalition, to build a new coal-fired power plant in the state.
($1 = 1.4043 Australian dollars)