“The decision to close our natural gas network doesn’t make sense. It diminishes household energy and heating security by effectively forcing residents to throw all their energy eggs into one basket with electricity,” writes JOE PREVEDELLO.

Imagine this, we’re 10 years into the future, it’s 2036. Two years ago, you were forced to disconnect your home’s natural gas connection as part of the ACT Government’s push to shut down the gas network by 2045.

Your home’s only energy source now is electricity. It’s the middle of July, it’s freezing cold and there’s a lengthy blackout caused by some wild storms.

Your family is getting sick because of the cold and your elderly neighbour, who also has no other power source, has been rushed to hospital with hypothermia.

Last year you removed your wood heater, because the government made you do that, too. You end up using your barbecue and its gas bottle to generate the very little heat you can and you’re in line to borrow the diesel generator from the bloke across the road.

The handful of people in the street with solar panels are faring just slightly better. Your electric reverse-cycle air conditioning had been struggling anyway, as many do in cold temperatures.

Dramatic? Yes, but it’s an entirely probable scenario looking ahead from where we stand now. The last couple of weeks on the global stage has again reminded us of the disruption that is possible. 

The ACT Government’s decision to close our natural gas network doesn’t make sense. It diminishes household energy and heating security, along with consumer choice, by effectively forcing residents to throw all their energy eggs into one basket with electricity. It’s just not a smart move for the ACT, a place that gets very cold in winter. 

Of course, technology will change and present new energy opportunities, but the ACT Government is clearly putting the cart before the horse in pursuing a gas network shutdown.

I also don’t accept that natural gas needs to be a sacrificial lamb to pursue climate change mitigation targets. Other states have net-zero targets in place and have no plans to get rid of household gas supply.

The transition cost for ACT consumers is likely to be enormous. The WA town of Esperance had its piped gas switched off in 2023. The state’s regional energy provider, Horizon Power, estimated the cost at $15,000 to electrify each home.

As time goes on, it will only get more expensive here, collectively running into the billions of dollars for residents and the government to pay.

Of course, this massive change in Canberra’s energy mix will have an unprecedented impact on our local plumbing and gasfitting industry. When you take away up to half of what the typical local plumber does, such as safely fitting gas heaters, hot water units and cooktops, it can’t not. 

The ACT Master Plumbers Association would much prefer the natural gas shutdown be reversed, so it was good to see the Canberra Liberals signal support recently to keep the network open.

However, we respect that the government has its right to make and implement policy decisions, so if they stay the course to phase out gas by 2045, the plumbing sector needs a government-led plan to transition effectively. 

We will have to ensure there are enough locally based gasfitters to carry out works associated with an accelerated shutdown as the 2045 end date gets closer.

Unfortunately, some budding plumbing apprentices are already questioning whether it’s worth getting qualified in gasfitting because they don’t see a future with it. 

Our existing industry will need support through retraining, upskilling and business transitioning, and the community needs to be better prepared.

I believe many people across Canberra have no idea the shutdown is coming at all.

Inevitably, the use of bottled liquid petroleum gas or LPG will only become greater as more residents realise that they can’t get the piped stuff, something that’s already proving very popular in Canberra’s newest suburbs without gas lines. 

The government needs to make sure people are aware of “do-it-yourself” risks with bottles and LPG. We have properly trained and licensed gasfitters for a reason. Like electricity, it can be very dangerous if not handled properly. 

There are also other questions that need to be resolved, such as what will happen to natural gas supply in Queanbeyan? Without an active ACT network how will Queanbeyan and Jerrabomberra customers be served? Who will pay the potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in decommissioning costs of the $400 million network asset?

Canberra’s gas utility Evoenergy counts more than 140,000 gas customers, proving it’s still a very popular form of energy for many Canberrans.

As the nights start to get cooler, think for a minute about what the ACT will be giving up if the full decommission of our natural gas network goes ahead. There is still time to reconsider this proposed shutdown.

Joe Prevedello is CEO of Master Plumbers ACT.