A significant majority of Australians believe coal and power lobbies are blocking the development of the renewable energy that is needed to cut electricity bills.

That is the finding of a Reachtel survey released as the conservative Liberal-National federal government battles to save its National Energy Guarantee (NEG) from internal and outside opposition.

it comes as frustrated industry leaders increase pressure on the government to provide certainty by overcoming that opposition.

“There can be no further delays. A decade of policy uncertainty has only resulted in higher electricity prices and a less stable and reliable energy system,” key business organisations including the Australian Industry Group and Small Business Australia said in a statement.

The new polling showed that renewable energy investment is a bigger priority for voters than government support for coal.

AAP Newsagency reports that ahead of a meeting to secure state and territory support for the government’s signature energy policy, the polling, conducted by ReachTel for Greenpeace, found 67 per cent of Australians believe renewable energy should receive more government support than fossil fuels.

The best way to ensure low cost energy was to invest in renewable enrgy and dispatchable storage such as batteries, 66 per cent of those surveyed said.

States and territories are being called on to back the NEG in a meeting with federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg on Friday.

That NEG policy is technology agnostic, meaning it offers no government subsidies for either renewable energy or coal.

The survey also found just over 70 per cent of people back an ambitious renewable energy target to put downward pressure on prices.

State renewable targets in the policy may prove a sticking point for Labor governed states such as Victoria, where Treasurer Tim Pallas has demanded that support for the NEG be guaranteed by the federal government’s party room.

Polling of Victorian voters found 76 per cent support investment in renewable energy while 75 per cent want more government support for renewable energy than for fossil fuels.

“Australians want lower electricity prices and the way to achieve that is to get more renewable energy in the energy mix,” said Greenpeace Australia Pacific head of research Dr Nikola Casule today.

“The Australian people know it and expect governments to act on it.

“Instead, (Prime Minister Malcolm) Turnbull’s NEG is a policy that directly undercuts the renewable energy industry, going against both the will of the people and market realities.

“Turnbull’s pathetic NEG disincentivises the clean and reliable renewable energy that the public knows is bringing down prices and pollution right now.

“We already know that Turnbull’s NEG will be an environmental and economic failure, now we can add politically disastrous to its growing list of unflattering adjectives.”

Reachtel polled 3999 Australians on July 30 and 1118 last week for the survey.