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A new report shows Victorian households could save up to 75 per cent on their energy bills in winter by switching from gas to electricity.
Key points:
- A new report shows people could save money by swapping from gas to electricity
- Environment Victoria is calling for more details on the Victorian government's gas ready roadmap
- There is a push to move away from gas more quickly to meet 2045 net zero targets
The report from not-for-profit groups Renew and Environment Victoria showed that those heating the living room of an average rental property in two metro and four regional locations would make savings if using a reverse cycle air-condition instead of a gas ducted or wall unit.
This included in Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat, while in the Latrobe Valley the report showed making the switch in a house with no insulation would amount to savings of about $490 over the winter period.
Hazelwood North resident Jon Knight said he had made significant savings by choosing not to use gas appliances despite electricity prices rising over the past few weeks.
"Gas is generally so inefficient," he said.
"Only about 30 to 40 per cent of it is getting used to heat and the rest of it is waste."
Mr Knight moved from the UK about 10 years ago to his property, which was not far from Hazelwood's defunct power station.
He said he knew he wanted his home to be fully electric.
Mr Knight bought a house that was on portable gas, meaning he could disconnect easily, and then installed electric air conditioners to heat and cool the house, an induction cooktop, heat pumps for hot water, and solar panels.
"The cost of gas at the time wasn't as high as it is now," he said.
"But you're looking at $1 a day just for the connection fee for most gas set-ups.
"You're saving 300 bucks to start with, and then there's the cost of the fuel."
Calls for transition timelines
Environment Victoria climate campaigner Sarah Rogan has called on the Victorian government to provide more clarity in its gas substitution roadmap.
In the roadmap, the state government identified that rising gas costs meant it no longer provided cheaper heating than electricity.
"The roadmap … is a really good start, but it doesn't go far enough to actually laying out the milestones and goals that the whole state needs to see to get off gas," she said.
"We want to see specific goals and timelines for reducing gas use across the whole state."
She said while lots of Victorians were facing cost of living pressures, many people, such as renters, multi-unit dwellers or people in social housing, had no control over switching their appliances to gas.
"We want to see details about how the … homes that are connected to gas will be retrofitted with efficient electric appliances and we also want to see support for reducing the up-front costs of switching appliances be applicable to all Victorian households," Ms Rogan said.
The Environment Victoria report also shows emissions from electricity appliances are less than those running on gas.
While gas emissions remain constant, the move to more renewable energy sources means electricity emissions are falling over time.
"For decades, the gas industry wanted us to be hooked on gas so they could improve and increase their profits," Ms Rogan said.
"But in reality, gas is toxic and polluting. It's a fossil fuel, which is harming our climate and our health."
Speeding things up
Grattan Institute Energy and Climate Science program director Tony Wood said Australia needed to move away from gas faster to meet the state's net-zero targets.
The institute released its paper on why and how Australians needed to get off gas just last month, which also highlighted the need for clearer state government road maps.
"To meet that sort of target we need to start now, so those more than 2 million households in Victoria that use gas today can move away from gas in a very timely way at a time that suits them," Mr Wood said.
He said while there had been plentiful cheap gas for so many years, that was no longer the case.
"The Victorian electricity grid itself, broadly, is more coal-dependent than the grids in other states, which means the emissions are a bit higher and so therefore you wouldn't immediately have a positive impact on emissions, even though you would have it on your cost of living," Mr Wood said.
He said that while that would change with the upcoming transition to renewables in Victoria, he did not think people should switch to electric appliances overnight.
"People should be replacing their gas appliances [with electricity ones] when they need to replace them," Mr Wood said.
"We don't recommend that they should throw away reasonably good gas appliances and replace them with electricity today, because that would be quite expensive."
Mr Wood said the government should not be allowing any more new gas connections either.
"[It's] trying to fill a bucket with water when there's a hole in the bottom."
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