ANDREW SADAUSKAS 30 MAY 2022
The Fifth Estate
The Victorian government is set to weigh up a moratorium on new gas connections for homes. It is also considering ditching regulations that force new buildings to connect to the gas network, after a landmark parliamentary committee report was handed down last week.
Last Wednesday, the state upper house’s Environment and Planning Committee tabled its report on renewable energy in Victoria, with a number of the key recommendations focusing on the need to remove gas appliances from buildings.
In Victoria, the state government is required to respond in writing to the recommendations made by any Legislative Council committee within six months.
The renewable energy inquiry is in addition to the Gas Substitution Roadmap the state government is planning to release sometime in the coming months. That policy will set out a strategy for using building electrification, hydrogen and biogas to cut carbon emissions from gas.
The Andrews government’s moves in the area of building electrification are vital, because Victoria accounts for more than one third (37 per cent) of all domestic gas use in the East Coast Gas Market.