Allan government softens electrification push, excludes gas cooktops from road map

Gas cooktops have been spared from Victoria’s net zero road map, with Jacinta Allan saying households can choose when to switch to electric appliances.

Victorians can continue cooking with gas in the kitchen for as long as they like after the Allan government excluded the popular stovetops from a net zero road map.

And laws will be introduced to state parliament to encourage new offshore gas storage projects in a bid to boost dwindling supplies and reduce risks of energy shortages later this decade.

The legislation will also send an investment signal that Victoria is open to new gas imports from interstate or even overseas, amid growing doubts there are enough local reserves to satisfy our near-term needs.

Victorians will be able to continue cooking with gas in the kitchen for as long as they like.

Premier Jacinta Allan will make the announcements this week, with the government looking to secure supply for gas-fired electricity generators when coal-fired power stations pull the plug from 2028.

Ms Allan said the government was “building for the future” including the “renewable energy our state needs” but that gas would be required in the near-term.

“Gas is part of our energy transition – but the reality is, we’re running out of it,” she said.

The premier also said “Victorians can keep cooking with gas”, with households left to choose when to switch to electric appliances.

Gas heating and hot water systems could also be excluded from the net zero roadmap, after Ms Allan on Monday appeared to leave the door open to freeing other appliances from the switch to all-electric.

Asked whether other gas appliances, such as heating and hot water, might also be spared in the transition, Ms Allan said the government was still “going through a consultation process”.

She said consultations were continuing this week.

But she said the best decision for the hip-pocket would be to ditch gas.

“We’ll always encourage households to switch to electric appliances, so they can save money on their bills,” she said.

“That’s just common sense.”

Victorians will still be encouraged to switch to electric appliances.

A long-term plan to phase out gas cooktops from existing homes – potentially by forcing Victorians to replace expired or broken appliances with electric options – was set to be considered as part of regulations that guide the government’s “gas substitution road map”.

The road map aims to wean Victorians off what Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio calls “fossil gas”, and shift the state to net zero emissions by 2045.

A regulatory impact statement is currently being prepared, but consultations will specifically exclude discussions on phasing out existing residential and commercial property cooktops.

The road map has led to a ban on gas connections for newly-built properties, which caused uproar but will remain in place.

The government hopes the softening of its electrification push will be more politically palatable, as well as send a signal to the market that the state will keep using gas for some time.

The Allan government will exclude the gas appliances from the net zero road map. Picture: Diego Fedele

A recent report on the state of the energy market in Victoria warned that gas shortages are possible from 2026 and will increase from 2028, when supplies in the Bass Strait are set to dive.

The new laws set for the state parliament will allow gas to be stored in empty gas reservoirs under the sea and deep in rock layers, which can be extracted during peak demand.

It would provide certainty to investors in new storage options, such as the Golden Beach Gas Project which plans to store gas off the coast of Gippsland.

The laws also leave the door open to new import projects, which are controversial due to their environmental impacts and potential to distort local prices.

The Allan government approved a new gas field in Victoria’s southwest early this year, run by Beach Energy, but that was the only application for new gas production in Victorian waters since 2014.

Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said the legislation will pave the way for the development of offshore gas storage projects. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

At that time a moratorium on onshore drilling or exploration was in place, as part of a ban on unconventional extraction known as fracking.

Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said underwater storage options were an interim solution while the capacity of renewables increases.

“Our new legislation paves the way for the development of offshore gas storage projects, to help secure gas supply while we get on and build cheaper and more reliable renewable energy for the future,” she said.

Gas currently provides up to five per cent of Victoria’s total annual electricity generation, and can be switched on during “peak” periods or when coal-fired power stations have outages.