Electrifying more homes to bring down bills for good

Electrifying homes, powered by cheap, clean rooftop solar saves consumers thousands on power bills permanently, and the Albanese Government wants more communities nationwide to benefit.

Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen has asked the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to consider funding for more community electrification demonstration projects across the country.

The funding could help thousands of households, including renters, secure their homes from bill spikes with more solar, batteries, energy efficient appliances and shared community energy storage.

In October last year, the Albanese Government announced $5.4 million of ARENA funding for the Electrify 2515 pilot in Wollongong. It’s the latest of 49 projects in which ARENA has invested more than $144 million over the past six years, to help homes reduce energy bills through electrification and other energy smart improvements.

Thanks to ARENA funding communities are already benefitting from new technologies and savings that electrification unlocks.

Electrify 2515 is delivering energy-efficient electric appliances and consumer energy resources in participating homes in the suburbs of Austinmer, Clifton, Coledale, Scarborough, Thirroul and Wombarra, along with a smart energy management device to optimise energy use.

This builds on existing electrification projects ARENA has funded in South Australia and the Northern Territory. ARENA is now seeking more opportunities to replicate the Electrify 2515 pilot across the ACT, Western Australia, Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania.

It is important that suburb-wide or community electrification demonstration projects are trialled in every state and territory in Australia to feed vital information and data back to ARENA, energy and electricity network companies, and governments about how best to roll out household electrification around the country.

This is the first time Minister Bowen has used the statutory ministerial referral powers to ask the ARENA board to look at backing specific projects. The referral arose following work with senators David Pocock, David Van, Jacqui Lambie and Lidia Thorpe.

The Albanese Government thanks the senators for their ongoing work to bring down bills and emissions through the clean energy transformation.

Decisions on funding for each demonstration project are made independently by ARENA based upon merit, consistent with their establishment legislation. At the end of 2024 the Government amended this legislation to formally make supporting electrification a statutory function for ARENA and reinstated ARENA’s statutory funding, which had lapsed under the previous government.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen:

“Communities across Australia are seeing the benefits of the clean energy transformation, and the Albanese Government is delivering the leadership and support they need to grasp those benefits.

“ARENA pilot projects supporting home electrification will help create valuable insights into how households can transition to renewables and smart energy systems to cut energy costs and reduce emissions.

“I’d like to thank senators David Pocock, David Van, Jacqui Lambie and Lidia Thorpe for their ongoing advocacy for cheaper, cleaner to run homes and their commitment to renewable energy.”