PM flags 'constructive' power price talks

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has rejected claims he has not provided his state and territory counterparts with details of a proposal to cap coal prices.

Ahead of a key energy meeting between federal, state and territory leaders, NSW Treasurer Matt Kean said the prime minister had not provided any information about easing power prices for their consideration.

"We need to see the detail of the Commonwealth's plan to solve this national problem (and) to see the modelling about how we'll keep prices down," Mr Kean told ABC Radio.  

But Mr Albanese rubbished the claim and said people had been given "a whole lot of detail" about what the Commonwealth would propose, as well as legal advice. 

"You've got to draw a distinction between what some states say in public in order to promote their own position and what is actually happening," he said. 

"What's been happening is very constructive dialogue ... Bureaucrats have been working this through for weeks."

The National Cabinet meeting will go ahead virtually this Friday after being postponed when Mr Albanese announced he had come down with COVID for a second time. 

Mr Kean earlier said it didn't matter when or how the meeting was held as long as state and territory ministers had a plan to consider ahead of time. 

He called on the Commonwealth to come up with a national solution to a national problem, as the east coast had an interconnected electricity grid. 

"We can't play whack-a-mole in energy policy, solving a problem in one state only for it to pop up in another," he said. 

A proposal to put a price cap on coal would be supported by the NSW government but Mr Kean said his federal counterparts must provide compensation to taxpayers in his state to ensure they were not affected by lost royalties. 

"The Commonwealth is yet to put a single dollar on the table to help with energy costs," Mr Kean said. 

"We stand ready to work with the Commonwealth to protect energy consumers in NSW ... we want to see whatever it takes to protect families and businesses."

Mr Albanese said the issues are being worked through "constructively" and he was confident about finding a solution.

"I've had discussions with the premiers over the weekend and again yesterday and last week ... I'll continue to work with them in a positive fashion," he said. 

"I'm very confident that we'll be able to work these issues through with a bit of goodwill and that's what we're doing."