Media release: Victoria to supercharge electrification transition 26 October 2023
Media release: Victoria to supercharge electrification transition
26 October 2023
The Energy Efficiency Council today welcomed the Allan Government’s announcement that it would invest heavily in electrification in Victoria through the State Electricity Commission.
Today, Victorian Minister for Climate Action and Energy and Resources, The Hon. Lily Ambrosio, announced that the Victorian Government would seek to accelerate the transition to an all-electric future by tasking the SEC to encourage and assist households to electrify.
EEC CEO Luke Menzel said the move would help supercharge the transition to efficient electric homes and businesses.
“Victoria has a huge task ahead to phase out gas usage and make sure that householders can access healthy, comfortable and affordable efficient electric technologies. Putting the resources of the SEC behind this task will make sure that everyone can benefit from the net zero transition”, Mr Menzel said.
Mr Menzel encouraged the Victorian Government to leverage the expertise and experience of reputable, high-quality providers in the Victorian Energy Upgrades scheme, who have been at the forefront of reducing emissions through household retrofits for more than a decade.
“We have dozens of companies with ready-to-go experts and skilled tradespeople, who can help the Government get cracking on this critical task, and they’ll be the boots on the ground that we need”, he said
Analysis by consumer group Renew found that building an all-electric home could save consumers at least 35 per cent on their energy costs.
When pairing electrification with home solar and energy efficiency measures, these savings can more than double.
Mr Menzel also welcomed the Government’s commitment to investing in the clean energy workforce through a Centre of Training Excellence. The EEC encourages the Government to make sure that we train the full suite of clean energy workers – including energy efficiency and management experts who’ll make sure we can get the best out of our renewable energy investments.
Australia will need more than two million new clean energy workers to bring about our net zero transition, and government backing of training and skills is critical.
“We know that the clean energy transition is the largest economic transformation ever to occur – we’ll need to attract every skilled worker we can, and to up-skill and re-skill even more to get this done.”
– ENDS –
Media enquiries: Tim Fisher, EEC Head of Engagement0414 893 313 tim.fisher@eec.org.au
About the Energy Efficiency Council
The Energy Efficiency Council is a not-for-profit membership association for businesses, universities, governments and NGOs. The EEC works to build sophisticated markets for energy management products and services that deliver a prosperous, net zero Australia with:
- Affordable, reliable energy;
- Healthy, comfortable buildings; and
- Productive, competitive businesses.
Learn more at eec.org.au