Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures show that gas provides almost as much energy as electricity to Australians but costs 60 per cent less.
The statistics come from the ABS report, Energy Accounts Australia 2013-14 and show that gas and electricity supplied almost the same amount of energy to households within that year.
Australian Pipelines and Gas Association Chief Executive, Cheryl Cartwright, said, “The ABS found that gas, including both natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas, provided 205 petajoules (PJ) of energy to households in 2013-14,”
“Over the same period, electricity (including rooftop solar) provided 216PJ to households. Importantly, those 205PJ of gas cost households a total of $6.2billion, while the cost of the 216PJ of electricity was substantially higher at $16.1billion.
“That means a petajoule of gas cost households $30.2million in 2013-14 while households paid $74.5million for a petajoule of electricity. That’s a significant difference.
“These figures are a reminder that if we are looking to reduce our household energy bills, we should use gas for as much of our energy needs as possible.”
Ms Cartwright said using more gas would also have the additional benefit of reducing carbon emissions.
“Gas used in the home has around one quarter the emissions of electricity from the grid, which is predominantly generated from coal-fired power stations.”
The ABS publication shows that total household energy demand was 1054PJ and total household cost was $47.3billion. Petrol and diesel products accounted for the majority of household net use of energy.
The full Energy Accounts Australia 2013-14 report is available here.
