The New South Wales Energy Minister Anthony Roberts says communities will have to embrace coal seam gas and shop around if they want to avoid a massive spike in gas prices.

The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has revealed gas retailers are seeking an 18 to 20 per cent hike in the price of gas next financial year.

IPART has begun taking submissions on gas prices for the next two financial years.

It will release its draft report in April and make a final determination mid-year.

Mr Roberts says half the increase sought is due to the carbon tax and the other half is in response to an increase in wholesale prices.

He says scrapping the tax would help as would increasing gas production in NSW.

"When you're importing 95 per cent of your gas into NSW we have not just a short term problem, but we have a long term problem," he said.

"The importance of growing the natural gas industry in NSW is fundamental to this state's future, economic viability, but also driving the prices of gas down where we can through increase of supply."

Paul Fennelly from the Australian Petroleum, Production and Exploration Association agrees.

"We have an abundance of gas in NSW," he said.

But the Minister says consumers also do not have to rely on the regulated price.

"My message to them is get active, get interested and shop around."

The NSW Greens have rejected claims that increasing coal seam gas production will reduce prices.

Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham says the Minister's claim that the rise could be avoided if the state was not so reliant on interstate supplies is also a false argument.

"Coal seam gas will not deliver lower prices," he said.

"Prices are going up because there is a huge demand in the market driven by a rush to export liquefied natural gas out of Queensland. The only thing that will guarantee supply and put some downward pressure on prices is to ensure that conventional gas from South Australia and Victoria is reserved for domestic use."

Labor leader John Robertson says until the science is known, CSG should not be an option.

"We should never, living in one of the driest continents in the world, be prepared to compromise our water supplies," he said.

Labor agrees with the Greens that a certain percentage of existing gas supplies should be reserved for the domestic market.