If governments subsidised early uptake, the savings would soon outweigh the costs, the analysis shows.

Average Australian household power bills would fall from about $5000 to about $800 a year and power consumption from the grid would fall by 80 per cent if the system was rapidly electrified.

“Our homes would have solar on the roof, electric appliances, a home battery, and electric vehicles in the garage. But most households cannot afford this capital investment up front and so they are deprived of the savings,” says the report.

“Providing rebates and financing to low-income households in this transition phase needs to be a national priority.

“We should consider this type of investment to be national infrastructure, and in the same category as projects like the Snowy,” it says.

Dr Griffith told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that Australia was even better placed to prosper in a decarbonised economy than it had been in the fossil-fuel era.

He said Australia had the land, climate and low population density needed for a massive expansion of renewables, as well as the good governance and educated workforce needed to make it happen.

Last week, Rewiring America’s chief executive Ari Matusiak gave evidence before a US Senate committee, saying in part, “the simple truth is that if we are cleaning our grid, we must also clean the machines that use it.

“We cannot get to zero emissions by any date unless we do. The time frame is important because these machines last for a long time: 10 to 25 years, on average.

“Every time a water heater needs replacement in America, it presents an opportunity to install an efficient, electric heat pump alternative. Every time that opportunity is missed, we put further pressure on hitting our 2050 target. Every machine counts.”