The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced $8.2 million in funding for a major Canberra project that will test a simpler way for households to switch from gas to electricity, making homes more comfortable, efficient and cheaper to run.
The project, led by clean energy service provider Electric Future, will work with up to 1,000 households across Canberra’s southern suburbs to trial a single digital platform that acts as a one-stop shop for home electrification. The project will also help households take advantage of technologies including electric vehicles, home batteries and rooftop solar.
ARENA CEO Darren Miller said Australians shouldn’t need to be energy experts to access the benefits of clean energy.
“For many households, the barrier to electrification is not just the technology. It can be knowing where to start, comparing products and quotes, finding trusted installers, navigating rebates and finance, managing upfront costs, and understanding which choices will deliver the best outcome for their home,” Mr Miller said.
“This project is designed to tackle these barriers by testing an end-to-end service that brings the process together in one place – from customer advice and fixed-price quoting, to installer matching, scheduling, quality checks, rebate processing and ongoing support.”
The project will target a wide range of households, including owner-occupiers, renters and lower-income households, helping build an understanding of how electrification can work for different communities and housing types, particularly in cold climate conditions.
By making these technologies easier for households to adopt and integrate, Go Electric will help demonstrate how home electrification can be delivered at scale, and become more accessible and affordable for Australians.
Electric Future Managing Director Nathan Brown said Canberrans have already shown what’s possible when a whole city gets behind renewable energy.
“Canberrans are behind renewable energy, now we get to show what’s possible at the household level,” Mr Brown said.
“This project will help prove that electrification doesn’t have to be complicated, expensive or out of reach. Canberra is the right place to prove it thanks to the efforts of Rewiring Australia and Electrify Canberra, whose volunteers have spent four years talking to the community and advocating to decision makers to see this pilot get off the ground.”
Learn more about how ARENA is supporting community electrification on our website.
