The latest Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting was able to reach an agreement over the so-called "Retailer Reliability Obligation", which aims to lower power prices by putting the onus on energy companies to ensure community power obligations are met.
Federal Energy Minister, Angus Taylor, declared the meeting a success.
"We're delighted with the outcomes from the day. We achieved everything we wanted to from the COAG Energy Council. And in particular, we've agreed on implementation of the Retailer Reliability Obligation from the 1st of July next year. This is a crucial reform for every Australian."
But some state and territory ministers felt differently after the meeting finished.
Mr Taylor drew sharp criticism from the NSW and Queensland energy ministers for using procedural rules to shut down discussion about creating a national plan lowering carbon emissions.
The man who wanted to raise the matter, NSW energy minister Don Harwin, says he's disappointed with Mr Taylor's actions.
Mr Harwin says climate change is an issue that concerns a lot of Australians, and thus, must be taken seriously.
The New South Wales Liberal government announced a target in 2016 to have zero net emissions by 2050.
Queensland's Energy Minister, Anthony Lynham also criticised Mr Taylor, saying the discussion he blocked had support from most states and territories.
"Well, it wasn't a very pleasant meeting. I came here today to protect Queensland families from increased power prices. All Angus Taylor was interested in was politicking*, despite advice from every single state. Every single state was in unison regarding emissions."
But Mr Taylor says the federal government is focused on other issues.
“What we want to do is...we want to focus on the things Australians care about. It is lower electricity prices. It is keeping the lights on. It's ensuring that we take advantage of the situation we have now, where we're well ahead of our emission reduction targets, and get prices down. It means the big energy companies...holding them to account."
