Electrification should not be turned into a culture war football

The benefits of electrification are clear, but we need to be ready to harness its full potential, particularly if we are to combat energy price inflation.

The benefits of electrification are clear, but we need to be ready to harness its full potential, particularly if we are to combat energy price inflation.

Household electrification is becoming an increasingly popular option for Australians to power their homes. The advancement in technology and reduction in costs has made this more feasible.

One only needs to look at the uptake of household solar panels. Today, more than 30 per cent of households have rooftop solar, the highest uptake rate in the world. The future is bright.

To understand its full potential, the Senate has established an inquiry into the electrification of Australian households. This broad-ranging inquiry will examine the benefits of household electrification and the constraints of household electrification.

At the outset, I offer three thoughts on the Senate’s new electrification inquiry.

Firstly, I have always been of the view that all Australians can win from a transition to a net zero economy. We know that there are huge potential economic and environmental benefits in a decarbonisation agenda. Household electrification can play a pivotal role.

Rising energy prices are hurting Australians. Labor’s inflationary budget has made things so much harder for so many. The idea that Labor can legislate away energy cost increases is laughable and is reminiscent of Argentina-style economics.

The ability of households to generate and store their own energy can help end excessive power bills. Beyond the upfront costs, there are little to no ongoing costs.

Despite these costs declining, cost and complexity remains a barrier to household electrification. This is why the inquiry will examine how to make electrification an economically attractive and simple proposition for all households.

Doing this is not only good for households but good for our environment. But to achieve this, policies are needed that complement our decarbonisation agenda.

Andrew Bragg.

Policies of successive governments have been instrumental in laying the foundations for household electrification. The Howard government led the way on household electrification, through the implementation of the Man­datory Renewable Energy Target in 2001.

Not only did the MRET make household electrification accessible, it promoted the development of Australia’s renewable sector.

During the course of the inquiry, we will examine what policies would have the same impact as the MRET had 22 years ago.

Second, particular consideration should be given to how the tax system can support the installation of household batteries or community-scale batteries and other electric options such as heat pumps.

We need to examine how tax concessions can be better utilised to drive household electrification. Current concessions and rebates available are a good starting point, but more comprehensive measures must be examined.

The bulk of the existing government programs cover limited options and technologies. For example, rebates exist for installing household solar, but there are no concessions or rebates for battery storage. These schemes have failed to adapt alongside technological advancements in electrifi­cation.

We must examine how we can provide concessions for a wider range of electrification products, and design a scheme that is adaptive to new technologies.

Doing this would not only increase uptake, but promote market investment and innovation.

Third, household electrification should not be turned into a culture war football.

Household electrification cannot become subject to the same culture war rhetoric occurring overseas. In the US, debate around household electrification has become a victim of culture wars. Efforts to accelerate household electrification have been hindered by a scare campaign to prevent the Biden administration banning gas stoves.

Instead of exploring the benefits of household electrification, debate in congress has descended into statements like: “If the maniacs in the White House come for my stove, they can pry it from my cold dead hands.”

This dangerous politicking seemed to result in the US government having to affirm that they were not banning gas stoves. It is not in Australia’s economic interests for household electrification to be dragged into a culture war or hyper partisan politics.

In establishing our inquiry, I hope that we can avoid electrification being subject to the same fate in Australia. We will focus on the economic and environmental advantages of household electrification. The science is clear and markets have embraced the decarbonisation agenda.

This doesn’t mean there is no role for other forms of energy generation. In fact, the markets have made it clear there will be an ongoing role for gas for many years.

Equally, the investigation the Coalition has led into nuclear power is compatible with electrification. We want to have a diversity of cleaner options for house­holds to reduce their carbon footprint.

This has nothing to do with culture and everything to do with science and engineering.

Ultimately, the test for the inquiry is whether we can improve the agency of households to decarbonise without robbing the market of options to maintain ­energy security in Australia. I am confident we can develop the policy options our country needs.

Andrew Bragg is a Liberal senator for NSW.