ACT government opens public consultation on plan to ban new gas connections

The ACT government is pushing its no-new-gas-connection legislation forward in an effort to stem reliance on fossil fuels, its figures revealing 80 per cent of all new homes in Canberra are still connecting to the gas network and new connections are ongoing for business and industrial uses.

All homes and businesses in zones identified as residential in the Territory Plan would be prevented from connecting to gas under the government's preferred initial changes, ahead of an eventual roll out to commercial and industrial areas.

Whether exemptions should be provided to select businesses or industries, or whether the installation of liquid petroleum gas can be used as a short-term solution, will be decided following the public consultation which opened Friday.

The workforce impact, including a decline in gas-fitting work associated with new developments, will also be considered ahead of the regulation's introduction.

Jason Tait, president of Master Plumbers ACT, said the challenge will be upskilling tradespeople in Canberra to transition from careers reliant on the gas industry to qualified electricians.

Mr Tait said the Canberra Institute of Technology was already battling staff shortages with classes at capacity, in addition to the Fyshwick campus being over subscribed.

He said the industry generally was of the view that bans on gas connections were being rushed through, despite there being rapid developments in hydrogen technology which, alongside biogas, could prevent such major disruption.

"Master Plumbers - and the industry in general - supports net zero," he said.

"We understand that there is a need to move away from our reliance on fossil fuels. I think that there is potential for a gas network in that."

The ACT government says it is considering the need to transition to meet net-zero emissions against the risk rapid transition to electrification could have a negative impact on the building and construction industry and economic activity in the territory.

Exploring introducing hydrogen gas in the ACT is not the focus of this consultation, due to the likely need for significant community investment in new gas appliances, large-scale renewable gas production facilities and electricity infrastructure, government says.

The ACT government has forecast the gas network will remain an important energy source for the next 10-15 years and will remain economically viable until the mid-2030s.

A decline in customer demand and its diminishing availability is expected to put pressure on the economic viability of the network in its current form from then on.

If government projections are correct, gas network owner, Evoenergy, could have $146 million worth of assets left stranded when the ACT switches off from gas in 2045.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the ACT took a nation leading step in announcing its intention to electrify the city and transition off fossil fuel gas over the next 20 years.

"The cost of gas is more than likely to grow in the coming decades," he said.

"All-electric buildings are not only a better choice for the environment, but they're also better for future building users, and will save people money on energy costs."

The ACT government says this new legislation is designed to prevent consumers paying to switch to electric gas, heating and cooling, and hot water systems in the future.

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"Property developers, architects and builders - who often make the decision to install a gas connection in a new building - have limited incentives to consider the long-term additional costs of a gas connection on tenants and owners," government said.

"The result is that new gas connections are made in many circumstances where an all-electric build is a better choice for the environment and will yield long-term savings for future users of the building.

"Similarly, a property purchaser may be deterred from purchasing an all-electric building, given the potentially higher upfront costs."

There are a number of high-density residential developments underway in Canberra advertising gas connections, including Art Group's Calypso property in Dickson spruiking gas cooktop availability in its 166 apartments.

The ACT government anticipates there could be between 30 to 40 new multi-story buildings approved between the electrification pathway announcement and the regulation coming into place.

"The ACT government is committed to developing a regulation in consultation with the community that has minimal impact on existing plans which have already received Development Approval (DA) or Building Approval (BA),"

"However, given the substantial cost associated with converting multi-unit developments to all-electric in the future and the risk that some developments will not have the space to be converted, we are seeking your views on whether it is appropriate for multi-unit developments that have already received a DA or BA to have the option of changing their plans to provide for an all-electric build."

Subsidies for ACT residents with existing gas connections wishing to disconnect from the network will not be provided under this legislation, despite the increased demand.

In October 2022, Evoenergy reported they had approximately 7700 "non-consuming" connections to the network, including 5200 not using gas and not forking out the almost $800 to have it disconnected.

The cost of abolishing existing gas connections, set by the Australian Energy Regulator, could be socialised under regulatory changes currently being considered.

Following a public consultation period beginning Friday, it is proposed the ban on new gas connections will commence by November. The start date will closely align with a new National Construction Code requiring seven-star energy efficiency rating and minimum accessibility standards in all new homes built from October 2023.

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