Not knowing all the answers is not a reason not to start - the ACT's plan for an all-electric future

The ACT is leading the nation when it comes to emissions reduction and electrification.

They’ve committed to an all-electric future and phasing out fossil fuel gas by 2045.

They’re the first jurisdiction in Australia to be powered entirely by renewable energy, even though there are no renewable energy plants in the ACT.

They did it by constructing several wind farms in NSW, Victoria and South Australia over the last decade.

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As a result, power bills are falling in the ACT while they’re soaring everywhere else.

In landmark legislation, the ACT was also the first jurisdiction to ban new gas connections in households and businesses – no new gas connections will be possible from November this year.

Whilst community support for the transition has been high in the ACT, it’s been the government that has largely driven the decarbonisation agenda to date. 

However, the next stage of the transition, electrifying the whole of the ACT, will depend on what the community does.

With 60% of the ACT’s emissions now coming from transport, and another 22% coming from fossil fuel gas that is largely used in homes, ACT householders will be essential players in the Territory’s decarbonisation and electrification.

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“In the remaining sectors of greenhouse gas emissions we really have to shift from pure government action to significant community engagement,” Shane Rattenbury, ACT Minister for Energy, told the SwitchedOn Australia podcast. “We really need everybody to be involved.”

To this end the Government is encouraging all residents to develop their own electrification transition plan and offering assistance to help them.

10% of eligible households have already taken advantage of the ACT Government’s sustainable household scheme - over 13,000 households.

Homeowners can borrow up to $15,000, interest free, to purchase electric heating or hot water systems, electric vehicles, rooftop solar, batteries or ceiling insulation, and have up to 10 years to repay it.

So far around $170 million in interest free loans have been committed. 

Test case

With a population of 450,000 people, the ACT is small enough to be a test case for how an Australian city can electrify, but big enough to manifest the challenges which are likely to emerge for the rest of Australia as we scale up the electrification transition.

Shane Rattenbury admits they don’t yet have all the answers for the ACT’s electrification journey.

He says they still need to resolve how to ensure low-income earners and renters don’t get stuck on gas; how apartment buildings can gain access to EV charging infrastructure; who should pay for gas disconnections – householders, government or business; what’s needed to increase and train the workforce for the transition; what happens to the disused gas pipelines, etc.

“These are the sort of things that are going to take more time to work through,” says Rattenbury. “Not knowing all the answers now is nota reason not to start,”

“The approach we've taken in the ACT is to set the goal and to be very clear about it so that we all know we've got to start making the transition.”

Rattenbury likens the journey to writing a book. The government has set the policy framework with very clear goals where they want to go to enable people to participate, and “we've now got to write the more detailed chapters.”

Being at the forefront of Australia’s transition, the ACT has often had to look overseas for answers to problems that arise. 

“Questions are coming up that no one else in Australia knows the answers to. And I'm a great fan of not needing to reinvent the wheel. If someone's done something that has worked, I'm happy just to copy it.”

Electric vehicle charging is one of the issues they’ve been looking overseas to find answers for. Rattenbury admits they’re behind on building EV charging infrastructure but have now committed to having 180 charging stations installed by 2025. 

Given the difficulties for people in apartments to retrofit chargers at home, they’ve decided to adopt the European model of ensuring a good supply of public chargers so people can charge when they go out shopping or have a coffee, etc.

“We've been looking overseas at the experience in places like Norway, where they have a far greater penetration of electric vehicles, and less people living in semi-detached homes as well.”

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To assist with the take up of electric vehicles in the ACT, the government has also ditched stamp duty on the sale of new or used electric vehicles, provide 2 years free registration, and interest free loans of up to$15,000 to purchase an EV.

Several years ago, they took the decision to purchase EVs for their government fleets, which is now helping create a second-hand EV market in the ACT.

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Shane Rattenbury spoke to the SwitchedOn Australia podcast. You can hear the interview here.