The five millionth customer is set to connect to Australia’s gas network in November 2017.
Energy Networks Australia Interim CEO, Andrew Dillon, said this demonstrates the continued value of clean, reliable and affordable gas to households across the nation.
A new Energy Networks Australia fact sheet brings together key statistics on the use of gas in Australian homes for heating, hot water and cooking.
Mr Dillon said 70 per cent of Australian households are connected to gas and this number continues to grow.
“National gas connections have grown from 3.8 million in 2005 to 4.8 million in 2015,” Mr Dillon said.
“That is growing at a rate of 100,000 new connections per year.
“At this rate, the five millionth customer will be connected in November.”
Gas is used in homes all year round but its consumption in winter months is nearly triple that of the use in summer months.
“The energy provided to homes through the gas network complements the winter peak demand for electricity during those cold months,” Mr Dillon said.
Australia has over 90,000km of gas distribution network and Australian households use over 11 million gas appliances.
Calculations by Deloitte Access Economics showed that Australia’s existing gas infrastructure can store more energy than six billion PowerWall batteries.
Mr Dillon said the Gas Vision 2050 released earlier this year demonstrates the value of this infrastructure in a low-carbon energy future.
“Biogas, hydrogen and carbon capture and storage could provide new zero-emission and low emission fuels that can deliver power to customers using the existing distribution network,” Mr Dillon said.
“Excess renewable energy could also be stored in the gas network to be used when it’s needed.
“This will be tested during an Australian first power-to-gas trial by Australian Gas Networks and AquaHydrex.”
