No ban on gas cooktops yet, but new sweetener urges homes to ditch “last appliance”

Victorian households can now apply for a $140 discount on the cost of swapping out an existing gas stove for an induction cooktop, as the state government urges households to cut the “last appliance” tethering them to the increasingly expensive and polluting gas network.

The new offer, available through the state’s Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) program, was launched on the weekend by state energy minister Lily D’Ambrosio, as part of an expansion of the scheme announced last year.

The discount will be made available to consumers through VEU accredited providers either at the point of sale at participating retailers or through a cash back refund, if the cooktop has already been purchased.

Households are eligible as long as they have an existing gas stove and have not already claimed an incentive. A minimum co-payment of $200 dollars is also required.

The new sweetener for electric induction stoves comes into play less than two months after a ban on new gas cooktops was ruled out of the government’s planned phaseout of residential gas use.

The move, which was slammed by electrification and sustainability advocates – and celebrated by gas industry lobby groups – was said to have been informed by feedback from households concerned about the cost of electrifying cooking.

“It also gives us the opportunity to have conversation with the Victorian community about our future energy mix and our future energy needs,” premier Jacinta Allan said at the time.

Days later, however, the Allen government introduced the legislation paving the way for the phase out of fossil gas hot water and heating in the state’s homes and businesses.

This has since passed through parliament. Or, as the Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association of Australia (GAMAA) put it last week, “they have pushed it through Parliament, voting down an amendment that would exclude gas cooktops from the scope of any future bans.”

“It’s very clear that the government has made its mind up to go after people’s gas appliances,” GAMAA president Ross Jamieson said.

As it stands, the Gas Substitution Roadmap bans gas from new homes in the state and is aiming to phase it out of existing homes by requiring households to replace old gas appliances with efficient electric alternatives – albeit with the help of rebates.

The incentive to help households make up their own mind on the switch to electric cooking is fairly small in light of the upfront cost of an induction stove, which can range in price from a few hundred dollars to more than $4,000.

But as the government explains on the dedicated VEU page, an upfront discount is just the beginning for the savings from induction stoves, starting with the fact that they are around three times more energy efficient than their gas counterparts.

The real value is that “gas cooktops and ovens are often the last gas appliance in a house to be replaced. Removing them may allow a home to become gas free,” the government website explains.

“This means the annual gas network connection charges could be permanently avoided. This may save around $350 to $400 yearly on fixed network charges, in addition to lower energy cost for cooking.”

According to the Victorian government, converting the entirety of an existing home from gas to all electric has the potential to save the average household $1,700 per year, which increases up to $2,700 per year if they add rooftop solar.

Already, the VEU program has delivered rebates for 19,000 reverse cycle air conditioners, and 39,000 hot water systems since 2023 – saving 28 million tonnes of emissions by 2025.

Households that replace a gas ducted heating system with an electric one can receive a discount of up to $3,600 on the system and save around $600 every year on their energy bills, whereas an electric heat pump hot water system can save households $250 per year compared with a gas unit.