Coalition and Labor agree on benefits of getting off gas
In June 2023, the Senate referred an inquiry to investigate the benefits of, and barriers to, residential electrification.
The committee was led by the Coalition’s Andrew Bragg, the federal Liberal senator for New South Wales.
The report outlines a “pretty strong consensus position” that households will save money by shifting from gas to electric appliances and systems.
The report also notes that many households face barriers to electrification – barriers that, if not addressed risk excluding households on low incomes, renters, and apartment dwellers.
Could it be that getting gas out of homes has quietly become a point of consensus in Australia’s notoriously conflict-ridden energy policy landscape?
There remain some points of contention on how to go about getting gas out of homes.
The report notes that for many households the most affordable option – “in the short term” – is to keep existing gas appliances.
The higher upfront cost of electric is not something advocates ignore. A major new report has found that electrification has now passed a “tipping point,” and the cost of investing in electric appliances is cheaper over a 15-year lifetime
Overall, the consensus from the inquiry is that getting homes off gas, with a range of supports, is the way to go.
It is also agreed upon that better national coordination is needed, to get electrification done right.
The release of the report, in the first weeks of campaigning ahead of the May election, has been a surprise. Publication had been delayed until after the election, but it was published early following fierce lobbying from Parents for Climate.
Consensus is building across all parties that consumer energy resources are an essential part of the puzzle for dealing with cost-of-living issues, as well as solving grid-related problems.