Electrification regs a win for community, economy and climate.
The Victorian Government has today announced a suite of regulations which will continue the work of significantly reducing the use of fossil gas statewide for rentals, newly built privately owned homes and newly built commercial buildings including schools and hospitals.
At a time of rising energy bills and an intensifying cost of living crisis, these reforms will directly improve financial circumstances for many residential and commercial bill payers statewide. Friends of the Earth Melbourne has long campaigned for policy reforms which directly drive the use of gas down to zero in Victoria, and prioritise energy justice with the 2022 release of our Community Gas Retirement Roadmap and the 2024 release of Saving Rental Energy reports. Victoria is far and beyond the heaviest domestic gas using state or territory per capita in Australia. Today's announcement from the Allan Government is a powerful step towards a fully renewable energy future for Victoria.
Top line Victorian Government announceables in a nutshell:
All new residential and commercial buildings (except agricultural and manufacturing buildings) to require all electric heating and hot water from 1 January 2027
All rentals including public housing to shift to electric hot water and heating upon replacement - alongside a suite of other energy efficiency upgrades - after 1 March 2027
From 1 March 2027 all existing privately owned homes can only replace gas hot water with electric appliances. The largest gas guzzling appliances of space heating, and the greatest indoor air pollutant, gas cooking are not included.
"In a great many ways these are groundbreaking reforms for the climate and selected household budgets. We love that the nearly one third of homes occupied by renters are prioritised, meaning that some of the most vulnerable households will see an early benefit in shifting away from expensive gas to more efficient hot water, heating and cooling options", said Friends of the Earth No More Gas campaigner Freja Leonard. "Ultimately this means an annual average bill saving of around $330 each year, jumping to about $520 annually if the home has sufficient rooftop solar."
In enthusiastically welcoming these reforms which campaigner Freja Leonard described as "energy policy made sexy", Friends of the Earth Melbourne expressed concern that while these new regulations benefit new home owners and existing renters, many Victorian residents will be left tied to a climate polluting energy source which is rising in price, both for usage and daily access charges.
"We know, because they tell us, that ordinary homeowners struggling to maintain mortgages and keep food on the table aren't always in a position to switch from fossil gas to affordable electric appliances, even when they are desperate to do so. And as gas use declines, we are concerned for those who are unable to disconnect from gas being stranded on a decreasingly affordable fuel source with ever rising access charges", Ms Leonard said.
"For those homes no longer using gas for heating or hot water but still cooking with gas this means that the daily access charge, currently around $1/day, will eclipse the actual gas usage charge. Maybe this will be the final push homeowners need to move to all electric buildings. But we are concerned for renters still stranded cooking on polluting gas, adding to the risk of asthma and other respiratory illness - and draining from the public health budget."
"We've said it before and we have to say it again: we urge the government to shift daily access charges for gas from renters to rental providers as currently happens for water bills. This will finally incentivise landlords to remove gas entirely from their rental properties."
"We appreciate the efforts of the Allan Government working constructively with The Greens, who helped secure funding to make today's announcement possible, including $20m to implement the minimum rental standards and an additional package to support industry to transition to the manufacturing of efficient electrical appliances. This important addition to today's announcement shows what can be done when different Parliamentary players put aside the political jousting to come together and work cooperatively for the benefit of all Victorians."
"Phasing out gas appliances for rentals and new homes is energy policy made sexy. It's a triumph for energy justice, economic commonsense and climate which will benefit Victorians for decades to come."
"Ultimately we hope the Victorian Government will build on these excellent reforms to work towards the equitable, rapid and orderly retirement of the gas mains system, prioritising those most vulnerable households and businesses, and assisting them - and Victoria - to finally get off gas for good."
Key Facts:
All new residential and commercial buildings (except agricultural and manufacturing buildings) to require all electric heating and hot water from 1 January 2027
All rentals including public housing to shift to electric hot water and heating upon replacement - alongside a suite of other energy efficiency upgrades - after 1 March 2027
From 1 March 2027 all existing privately owned homes can only replace gas hot water with electric appliances. The largest gas guzzling appliances of space heating, and the greatest indoor air pollutant, gas cooking are not included.
- These reforms are a triumph of collaborative campaigning and reflect many of the policy recommendations fought for by Friends of the Earth for years and incorporate powerful additions contributed by The Greens
- This is an important step towards the inevitable retirement of the gas mains system
About us:
Friends of the Earth Melbourne has worked since 1972 for justice for people and planet.
The No More Gas campaign has operated for over five years to remove gas from Victoria's energy economy.
