Vic gas ban is no spectacular win for the climate
The Victorian government has drawn a line in the sand on the household use of natural gas in the biggest gas-consuming state in the country, but the state’s big gas problem hasn’t gone away.
The outright ban on connections for new houses as of January 1, 2024 effectively means the state, which accounts for more than 60 per cent of household gas use across the country, has passed “peak gas” in terms of demand: household consumption of the fuel is heading only one way.
Use of coal power may increase as a result of Victoria’s decision to ban new household gas connections. Bloomberg
The ACT government has already gone down that path and outlawed its use altogether in the territory by 2045 as part of its commitment to reach net zero emissions by that date.
But Victoria’s decision, flagged by state Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio 12 months ago, is much more significant given the state’s high concentration of gas connections – about 80 per cent of homes – and the volumes involved.
Ironically, forcing new houses to rely wholly on electricity will – on paper at least – only drive up the use of coal-fired power, given Victoria’s still-heavy reliance on its brown coal power generators in the Latrobe Valley.
Brown coal power – more carbon-polluting than black coal – accounted for 68 per cent of electricity produced in Victoria in 2020, according to the most recent figures from the federal Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, and the state’s power grid is already under pressure, even before adding to electricity demand.
It’s different for houses with solar panels – and particularly for those also with batteries – but in that respect it is hardly the “spectacular win for the climate” touted by some green groups on
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