A consumer survey by Energy Consumers Australia has revealed that more than 60 per cent of Australians believe the renewable transition will be good for Australia overall, however one in four do not understand how it will affect them personally.
The Consumer Energy Report Card shows most householders believe the energy transition will be good for the environment, their local community and Australia as a whole, but three in four are not confident that the country has a well-planned approach to managing the transition.
The research also shows consumers are split over whether the transition to renewables will lower bills in the short term (36 per cent think it will, 34 per cent think it won’t), but they are more positive that the transition will be good for electricity prices in the long term (45 per cent think it will lower bills long term, 28 per cent disagree).
Energy Consumers Australia CEO, Brendan French, said Australians feel positive about the transition to renewable energy and believe it will be a good thing for the country – and more than half say they understand why Australia is making the change.
“They are much less certain about what it means for them and their families, with most believing this is yet to be clearly explained.
“People need the right information at the right time, from sources they trust, in order to understand what is coming and what they can do to benefit from it,” Dr French said.
“Without this information, Australians are understandably uncertain, and the risk is we won’t see the uptake of consumer energy resources (household batteries, EVs etc), energy efficiency upgrades, and changing patterns of energy use the industry assumes will happen during the energy transition.”
Dr French said Energy Consumers Australia is calling for a comprehensive, trusted and well-publicised One Stop Shop so consumers can quickly search online for help finding efficient appliances, installing hot water heat pumps, charging an EV, insulating their homes, saving money on their energy bills, and more.
The report found that while about 40 per cent of households express interest in EVs, interest levels vary significantly across jurisdictions. Households in the ACT and Victoria show the highest interest (55 per cent and 43 per cent). By contrast, only 33 per cent of households in Queensland and 31 per cent in South Australia are interested in the technology.
“Modelling we commissioned last year from CSIRO shows that EVs will drive down electricity bills for everyone, not only the people who own them,” Dr French said.
“Ensuring all consumers can use, charge, and pay for electric vehicles conveniently and fairly will help them save money on their energy bills so we need to remove barriers to ensure EV charging is possible.”
