Victoria’s Labor government has announced a range of supports to help more than 1,000 energy customers electrify their homes in the wake of a “failed gas supply program” affecting 10 regional towns in the state.
Solstice Energy, a diversified energy company majority-owned by Foresight Australia Funds Management, told customers earlier this month that it will shut down its gas network by the end of 2026, because it is no longer economically viable.
Gas Networks Victoria (GNV), part of the Solstice Energy Group, supplies LNG to 1,183 residential customers across Terang, Maldon, Marong, Heathcote, Robinvale, Swan Hill, Kerang, Nathalia, Orbost and Lakes Entrance.
“We have been absorbing costs wherever possible, but this is no longer viable for our customers, or our business,” a Solstice spokesperson said at the time.
“We have now had to implement a further price rise for customers, so we want to find a better option for them.
“Rather than continuing to raise prices in the future, we are instead supporting our customers switch to bottled LPG or electricity, and then closing the CNG networks by the end of 2026.”
Solstice has committed to work with customers to transition them off reticulated gas and to assist with some of the costs for households switching to all-electric appliances. It said whichever option a household chooses, “we believe they will be better off with lower energy bills.”
In a statement on Friday, Victorian energy minister Lily D’Ambrosio said the government, too, would support to those affected, including through the State Electricity Commission, Solar Victoria, and the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) program.
“This is a failed gas supply program, called Energy for the Regions, that was introduced by the former Coalition government,” the statement said.
“At the time, the Labor government – then in Opposition – opposed it, warning it would unnecessarily lock regional Victorians into higher bills. Sadly, that has proven correct.”
D’Ambrosio says Solar Victoria will temporarily remove the income eligibility cap for Solstice customers in the affected towns, making it easier for them to access discounts for solar PV and efficient electric hot water systems.
The government has also opened Expression of Interest (EOI) to identify more electric appliance installers for the VEU program that can support households in these towns to go electric.
The SEC, meanwhile, will hold a combination of local community-group information sessions and webinars for Solstice customers in the 10 impacted towns, to help with the process of going electric.
“We’re making sure all impacted Solstice Energy customers have access to our rebates and discounts, to help them make the switch to cheaper electric appliances that will save them money in the long run,” D’Ambrosio says.
“This failed gas supply arrangement was imposed on regional communities by the previous Liberal National government and would have locked them into the most expensive energy source for decades.”
Victoria is the largest user of residential gas in Australia, but is also the first state (not counting the ACT) in the country to ban gas connections in new-build homes and to legislate a staged phase-out of gas in existing homes.
In late June, the Victorian Labor government announced that, from May 2027, owner-occupied households will be required to replace end-of-life gas hot water systems with electric heat pumps or other efficient alternatives.
In rental properties, both gas hot water systems and gas heaters must be replaced with efficient electric alternatives at end of life, from March 2027.
State opposition leader David Davis has blamed Solstice’s decision to get out of gas on the “hostile climate” in Victoria, having previously described the Labor government’s home electrification push as a “war on gas.”
