Our latest analysis, How households use gas and their attitudes towards electrification, reveals how Australian households and homeowners are using mains gas, and the extent to which they are willing or able to move towards electrification. It is the third release from our recent Consumer Energy Report Card survey.
Over half of Australian households reported using mains gas, highlighting the substantial challenge of fully electrifying all households. We found that the electrification for each house will vary significantly depending on how households rely on gas. Specifically:
- Approximately 1 in 4 Australian households with mains gas said they relied on it for the three primary purposes (cooking, hot water, and heating) indicating that electrification could be particularly challenging and costly for these households.
- In contrast, a similar proportion of households said they use gas just for one purpose (either cooking, hot water, or heating), suggesting that electrification may be more straightforward and less expensive for them.
Proportion of households with mains gas and gas appliances used
| Proportion with mains gas | Of the households with mains gas | |||
| Cooking* | Hot water | Space heating | ||
| National | 54% | 83% | 74% | 38% |
| VIC | 84% | 87% | 75% | 56% |
| WA | 73% | 90% | 77% | 24% |
| ACT | 61% | 71% | 74% | 49% |
| SA | 61% | 84% | 76% | 26% |
| NSW | 48% | 80% | 71% | 27% |
| QLD | 18% | 68% | 69% | 4% |
Questions: Is your home currently connected to gas? Do you currently use gas or electricity for the following things at your home? Note: Tasmania and Northern Territory are excluded due to small sample size. A household is considered to use gas for cooking if either the cooktop, the oven, or both are powered by gas.
Our findings suggest that many households are aware of the potential need to switch away from gas in the future, with some already expecting to do so. Overall, 1 in 3 homeowner households using mains gas said they will probably cancel their gas supply within the next 10 years.
Most notably, nearly 1 in 10 homeowner households with mains gas said they would probably cancel their gas supply in just the next two years. If this turns out to be true, there could be a large immediate shift towards electrification.
The extent to which homeowners with mains gas are planning to cancel gas supply
| Survey | Plan to cancel within next 10 years (total) | Plan to cancel within next 2 years | Plan to cancel within next 5 years | Plan to cancel within next 10 years | Don’t have plan to cancel |
| National | 35% | 9% | 13% | 13% | 65% |
| VIC | 37% | 8% | 15% | 14% | 63% |
| WA | 24% | 6% | 7% | 11% | 76% |
| ACT | 65% | 19% | 20% | 26% | 35% |
| SA | 28% | 4% | 10% | 13% | 72% |
| NSW | 34% | 10% | 13% | 11% | 66% |
| QLD | 30% | 13% | 5% | 12% | 70% |
Question: Some Australian households have been cancelling their gas supply and converting their home to running on electricity only. Which of the following best describes you?
Research Methodology
The Consumer Energy Report Card research is conducted by SEC Newgate for Energy Consumers Australia.
Fieldwork dates
27th September – 23rd October 2024
Online survey
Participants sourced from a
professional ISO-accredited online market
research panel.
Representative sample
n = 4,152 energy decision makers across
Australia
The large total sample size of 4,152 is
associated with an overall margin of error of
+/- 1.5% at a 95% confidence interval. It
provides a robust sample size for each
Australian state and territory, as well as for
other key consumer segments.
The target of
the survey was Australian adults who are
responsible for pay energy bills and/or choosing
energy products and services for their
household.
Data was weighted according to 2021 Census
population statistics on age, gender, area and
highest level of education. It was adjusted to
take into account that energy decision makers
have a slightly different age and gender profile
than that of the broader population.
The sample included a boost of 100 extra
participants who identify as Aboriginal or
Torres Strait Islander for a total of n=225 for
this consumer segment.
| Total sample (n) | 4,152 |
| Gender | |
| Male | 1,998 |
| Female | 2,136 |
| Another gender | 18 |
| Age | |
| 18-24 | 456 |
| 25-34 | 854 |
| 35-49 | 1,159 |
| 50-64 | 957 |
| 65+ | 726 |
| Area | |
| Metro | 2,399 |
| Regional | 1,753 |
| NSW | 834 |
| ACT | 207 |
| VIC | 824 |
| QLD | 730 |
| SA | 620 |
| WA | 625 |
| TAS | 207 |
| NT | 105 |
| Financial status | |
| Doing well / okay | 2,726 |
| Having difficulty | 1,426 |
| Housing type | |
| Freestanding house | 2,844 |
| Other (e.g. apartment, terrace, retirement home, mobile home) | 1,308 |
| Home ownership | |
| Renting | 1,388 |
| Own/Mortgage | 2,697 |
| Other | 67 |
| Rooftop solar | |
| Yes | 1,394 |
| No | 2,758 |
| ATSI and CALD | |
| Identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander | 225 |
| Speak a language other than English at home | 637 |
Our Consumer Energy Report Card is a comprehensive, independent research project, which reveals the attitudes and behaviours of thousands of Australian households and small businesses. Future reports in the series will provide in-depth analyses of key topics. Access all reports and related data here.
Looking for our Energy Consumer Sentiment and Behaviour Surveys? You can find prior reports and data up until June 2024 here.