Seeley International says gas ban shows ‘utter contempt’ for households and businesses

Australia’s biggest gas appliance manufacturer says the Allan government’s electrification push “imposes a staggering financial burden on Victorians, while delivering no real economic or environmental benefit”.

Victoria’s push to electrify households and businesses will not only drive up costs for consumers but undermine the federal government’s gas strategy and energy transition, a major manufacturer warns.

Airconditioning and heater maker Seeley International is demanding the Allan government scrap proposed mandates that ban the use of gas appliances.

It is also calling for the state’s energy upgrades program to include high-efficiency gas appliances to support the commercial scaling of alternative gases, such as hydrogen and biomethane.

“This anti-gas agenda not only undermines consumer choice, but imposes a staggering financial burden on Victorians, while delivering no real economic or environmental benefit,” Seeley International managing director Jon Seeley said.

The Victorian government in 2024 banned gas connections in new properties that needed a planning permit.

Under the state government’s preferred option, households would be required to replace gas hot water and heating with electric appliances when they expire, with all new residential and commercial buildings to be all-electric.

But Mr Seeley said this was an “extraordinary overreach that shows utter contempt” for households and businesses, will cause significant job losses, and drive up electricity prices.

In its building electrification submission, Seeley International claims Victoria’s approach will increase reliance on coal-fired power, growing emissions and making the pathway to net zero more expensive.

It warns the proposal works “in opposition” to the federal government’s Future Gas Strategy, and undermines the broader national energy transition, because it overlooks the “immense opportunities” from hydrogen and biomethane.

The federal strategy released last year states that once commercialised, low-emission gases could meet demands for gas and add to Australia’s exports.

“These low-emissions gases are not yet produced at a scale or price able to compete with natural gas,” the report states.

“However, they are expected to become more competitive as technology costs reduce and these gases are produced on a commercial scale.”

Jon Seeley says the government's policy is an ‘extraordinary overreach’. Picture: Russell Millard Photography

Seeley International also called on the state government to broaden the Victorian Energy Upgrades eligibility criteria to include high-efficiency gas appliances, saying this would support the commercial scaling of alternate gases which may be able to use existing gas infrastructure.

“Victorians deserve choice, affordability, energy reliability and policies that genuinely serve their interests – not ideological interventions that drive up costs and restrict their freedoms,” Mr Seeley said.

The Herald Sun last week revealed that forcing households off gas before the power grid is ready for a customer surge could cost households an extra $22bn over two decades, according to new modelling commissioned by Energy Networks Australia.

Originally published as Seeley International says gas ban shows ‘utter contempt’ for households and businesses