Australia’s oldest gas power company urges customers to go electric

Australian energy utility AGL has launched a new website designed to help its residential energy customers to switch over to “more electric” and energy efficient appliances in their homes, and less gas.

AGL’s Electrify Now website provides personalised recommendations demonstrating the financial and carbon savings of electrifying their homes by switching to solar, battery storage, heat pump hot water, reverse cycle space heating, induction cooktops, or an electric vehicle (EV).

It is a symbolic move for AGL, originally known as the Australian Gas Light Co, which was founded 185 years ago and remains Australia’s biggest polluter after the purchase of a fleet of coal fired power stations a decade ago.

The new program will be available only to AGL customers at launch, and uses the energy data and usage patterns of each household to create a personalised set of recommendations and projected energy bill and carbon savings.

Electrify Now also seeks, where possible, to provide the payback period of any investments in electric appliances and/or home solar and battery systems, while also connecting customers with its own network of third-party trusted installers.

“AGL understands that upgrading to a more energy efficient home can be confusing and complex for homeowners,” says Jo Egan, AGL’s chief customer officer.

“We’ve created Electrify Now to simplify this process and assist customers to access the benefits of a more electric home.

“By providing personalised recommendations and linking customers to AGL’s trusted network of third-party installers, customers are equipped to make the best decision to suit their home and budget.

“Some of the recommendations include the benefits of installing solar and batteries, and the replacement of gas appliances, as well as providing the payback period of the investment.”

The Electrify Now website seems at the moment focused only on homeowners, leaving the nearly 3 million renters out in the metaphorical cold.

However, AGL has promised to “continuously improve this new service” with an aim to provide “more features” and make it available “to more Australians” – though this appears to mean a potential expansion to non-AGL Energy customers.

The new website can be accessed at https://next.agl.com.au/electrifynow.