Energy Minister Angus Taylor has hinted contracts for the coalition's underwriting power projects scheme won't be signed before the government enters caretaker mode.
The government has announced a dozen energy projects on the shortlist for potential underwriting.
But with the election set to be called after next Tuesday's budget, the pressure is on the energy companies to make their business case to the government.
"Big projects like these take time," Mr Taylor told Sky News on Wednesday.
"You can't do them overnight."
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It took two years for the government to make a final investment decision on the Snowy Hydro expansion, he added.
The shortlist includes five gas projects, six hydro and an upgrade to an existing coal-fired power station.
A $10 million feasibility study will also be conducted into a coal project in Collinsville, to ensure there is enough power for industry in Queensland.
"In north Queensland and central Queensland we have to deal with the challenge of supporting big industries up there, in particular, the aluminium smelter," Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters in Sydney.
"So we're doing a project to ensure that their reliable energy needs are catered for into the future, so their jobs are secure."
Mr Taylor says the project was one of the 66 submissions to the underwriting plan, but the feasibility study is needed because the proposal is only in initial stages.
The minister insists it's not a political move to appease his Queensland Nationals colleagues who want taxpayer money used for a coal project in their state.
But Nationals MPs have taken the feasibility study as a sign of a sure thing, with George Christensen saying on Wednesday it means "getting a coal-fired power plant in Collinsville shovel ready".
