The Victorian Department of Transport and Planning and Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action have together outlined next steps to the state’s Gas Substitution Roadmap. It follows Victoria’s ban on gas connections to new dwellings, apartments and residential subdivisions requiring a planning permit that was implemented at the start of this year, and requirement for all new government buildings to be all-electric from July 2023.
According to the Department of Transport and Planning, Victoria has the highest use of gas for heating, hot water and cooking in Australia. Over two million (or around 76 percent) of homes, over 60,000 commercial buildings and over 800 large industrial users are connected to the gas network.
Having developed a Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) outlining four possible pathways for the electrification of residential and commercial buildings across the state by 2026, the government is now seeking feedback from the community.
The options include:
- Electrification of all new residential and new commercial buildings
- Electrification of all new and existing residential buildings, and all new and existing commercial buildings (excluding existing commercial cooking)
- Electrification of all new and existing residential buildings (excluding residential cooking), and all new commercial buildings
- Electrification of all new and existing residential buildings.
In the RIS, the state government note their preference as the third option. In this option, all existing residential gas hot water and heating appliances would need to be electrified at their end-of life. However, if those appliances can be retained during a renovation, then they would not be required to be replaced with electric appliances.
Gas cooktops in existing homes as well as all gas appliances in existing commercial buildings are excluded from this preferred option, so there are no impacts, for example, on existing commercial kitchens.
The proposed regulations for residential buildings make exemptions in instances where there is insufficient space to install electric systems, there are conflicting laws (such as those dictated by a heritage overlay), or where “costs of upgrading the connection are disproportionately high.”
The current period of consultation on the RIS and proposed draft regulations presents the final opportunity for stakeholders and the community to comment on proposed reforms before they are finalised.
The public are invited to have their say on the proposed options until 28 February 2025.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
