Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull won a battle when the coalition party room backed his National Energy Guarantee (NEG).  Former PM Tony Abbott and a few back-benchers may cross the floor to vote against it.

The government will introduce draft legislation that would require generators to meet a reliability guarantee and emissions reduction targets agreed to in the Paris Climate Accord.  PM Turnbull says the plan will put Australia "one step closer to cheaper and more reliable energy". 

Mr. Abbott criticized explanations of how the NEG "might theoretically get prices down" as "merchant bankers' gobbledygook". He also belittled party room support:  "Yes there were lots of pleas for unity, but as one MP said: 'We've got to be loyal to our electorates and to party members too and not show the unity of lemmings.'"

Labor could offer bipartisan support for the NEG, but the government would have to guarantee it will not spend taxpayers' money to underwrite new coal-fired power stations.

"Every industry body and every expert that advises the government on energy policy has said that new coal-fired power stations are, to use the words of the industry, simply uninvestable," said Labor's shadow energy minister Mark Butler.

The Opposition also argues that the target of cutting emissions by 26 percent is too weak.