The Problem
The best way for Australians to run their homes – both for their hip pocket and for the climate – is to use all electric appliances and cars powered by clean energy. However, to achieve this, tens of millions of fossil-fuel powered appliances and cars will need to be replaced.
While many Australians want to start their electrification journey and access the long-term financial benefits, the upfront costs are a significant hurdle. As a result, many people, especially those on lower incomes, are missing out on opportunities to cut their energy bill and have more energy efficient, and more comfortable, housing. This means there needs to be an accessible, feasible, and cost-effective pathway for property owners to electrify their properties and the vehicles that park at them.
The Project
To address this, Rewiring Australia developed several innovative financing models to enable all property owners to electrify their home – regardless of their circumstances.
The proposed Electrify Everything Loans Scheme (EELS) is the culmination of this work. It provides homeowners with a government backed loan, that is secured on the property, to help electrify their homes. Households would receive funds to install solar, batteries, EV charging, water heating, induction cooktops, split system air-conditioning, and home efficiency upgrades. The loan would be indexed to inflation and households would wait to pay it back until they can afford to do so, choose to make repayments, or wait until they sell their house.
EELS is bold in its scope and ask, signalling that electrification should be considered as a nation building investment akin to education, healthcare, and other public infrastructure. To function properly, the scheme will require $2.8 billion over the next three years. This will deliver monumental savings to consumers, who could reap $1.17 trillion in savings by 2050.
The Impact
Francis Vierboom, the Market Transformation Manager Rewiring Australia, reflected on the impact of the Energy Consumers Australia grant on the project:
“The support from Energy Consumers Australia has been instrumental in transforming Rewiring Australia’s advocacy for the Electrify Everything Loan Scheme (EELS) into concrete policy action. This grant supported our collaboration with the Australian National University to develop a comprehensive policy proposal with costings and timelines. This was paired with meaningful engagement with Ministerial and Departmental representatives and advocates across the housing, climate and industry spaces. Electrification finance that is accessible and equitable has been established as a key policy solution ahead of the Federal election.
Through this project, we’ve been able to work with other advocates, with electrification finance included as a key ask for the Renew Australia For All Campaign, a coalition of over 50 advocacy organisations. Support from Energy Consumers Australia has been pivotal in elevating household electrification finance to national conversation. Thanks to a significant media campaign, flexible and accessible finance options like EELS are now seen as a critical policy imperative for Australian households.”
Rewiring is continuing its engagement and building out the next phase of the project.
Energy Consumers Australia provided funding through its Grants Program to Rewiring Australia totalling $195,195 for its project Designing, modelling and advocating for finance policy options to drive inclusive household electrification.