Victoria urged to help existing homes go all-electric

23 climate justice, social services and energy organisations have written to the Victorian Minister for Energy, Lily D'Ambrosio, urging her to adopt a strategy to ensure all existing homes in Victoria can get rid of gas.

This follows Victoria's decision to ban gas connections in new homes and businesses from January next year.

Although the new connections ban – and the message it delivers to the gas industry – has been welcomed, it does little to address the problem of the 2 million Victorian homes already connected to gas and how to transition them to all-electric.

The signatories to the letter, including Climateworks, the Smart Energy Council, Rewiring Australia, the Victorian Council of Social Services, Asthma Australia and 350.org, have recommended Victoria now needs to establish targets for the electrification of existing homes and buildings.

They have also called on the government to provide additional finance and support to ensure that households facing the highest barriers to electrification, namely renters and households on low incomes, can also participate in the energy transition.

“Tackling existing homes alongside new homes is hard, and we want to make sure it is on the agenda,” says Rob McLeod, Policy and Advocacy Manager for Renew, one of the groups that has signed the letter.

"The big challenge now is to make sure the transition is fair and that the costs don’t fall on the households that can least afford them."

The group is also calling on the government to establish minimum rental standards and ensure replacement appliances in rental homes are efficient and all-electric.

Victoria is the second state in Australia to introduce a ban on new gas connections, after the ACT's ban in new homes and businesses which will take effect in November. But unlike the ACT, which has announced existing gas connections will be phased out of by 2045, Victoria is yet to put a date on when all gas connections will have to end.

Environment Victoria found that households in Victoria can save hundreds of dollars – or up to 75% – on their winter heating bills by switching from gas to efficient electric appliances.

The report, based on modelling by Renew, shows that an average home in Melbourne’s south-east using gas for heating over the winter months of June, July and August can expect to pay a total of around $716 to keep warm.

The cost of heating the same space using efficient, electric reverse cycle heating slashes that to just $169 – a massive 75 per cent reduction.

“We’re seeing huge community support for all-electric homes – not just because of emissions, but really importantly because of health and lower energy bills," says Rob McLeod from Renew.

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