22 July 2026
A nine-month ActewAGL program in Oxley shows why good intentions don’t always become action, and the proactive idea ActewAGL is exploring to change that.
CANBERRA, JUNE 2026: On a cold Canberra morning, a gas hot water system gives out. The household does what most of us would, calling the first available installer and asking for the fastest fix, usually a like-for-like gas replacement. Months later they learn an electric heat pump would have cost about the same to install and cut their running costs. The chance to make a better decision had already passed.
That gap, between a good decision and a fast one, is what ActewAGL set out to understand in Oxley. In early 2025, ActewAGL ran a nine-month Home Electrification Program in the ACT suburb. The clearest finding was about money.
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High upfront cost was the single biggest barrier to switching appliances from gas to electric, cited by 84% of participants.
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The strongest motivator for switching was long-term cost savings, named by 73%.
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When asked what would speed up their switch from gas to electric, 61% of participants pointed to significant new incentives.
But cost wasn’t the whole story. Households also found the process complex, and personalised guidance helped. Of those who took up a more detailed in-home energy assessment, 92% said they would recommend it, and for participants who went on to upgrade, the assessment was the trigger for one in four. By the program’s end, 64% felt more positive about electrification than when they started.
ActewAGL has been supporting home energy upgrades across the ACT for more than a decade. Since 2013, it has helped one in three Canberra households improve their energy efficiency, from installing LED lighting to upgrading to electric air conditioning.
This guidance-first approach underpins Electrify with ActewAGL, a free service that connects households with trusted installers, tailored quotes and exclusive incentives, including upfront discounts and energy bill credits. Since launching in 2024, the service has been used by more than 18,000 households.
“We’ve worked with tens of thousands of households across the ACT, and we know every home is different. When people move from gas to electric, they want to understand what it means for their bills, their home and their future. We help by looking at their individual needs and showing clear, side-by-side comparisons of costs, savings and emissions, so they can make a confident choice that works for their household and their budget,” said Todd Eagles, Group Manager – Brand, Marketing and Electrification, ActewAGL Retail.
Stewart, a customer who participated in the Oxley program, said “Electrify with ActewAGL helped me understand the benefits and costs in more detail, and essentially made the decisions for me. It was the catalyst that prompted the upgrade. I was initially going to get my gas heating and hot water upgraded, which was part of the recommendation, but ended up starting with a battery instead.”
The Home Electrification Program highlighted a broader insight: the best time to support a household is before an appliance fails. Helping people manage their energy costs relies on improving visibility and enabling smarter use of their home appliances. That’s why ActewAGL is exploring how smart meter data could help build a picture of the efficiency of a home’s appliances. Smart meters are now in around 40% of Canberra homes, with every home to have a smart meter by 2030.
The project will explore how emerging technologies, can unlock the value of smart meter data and deliver real benefits to customers. Smart use of energy data has the strong potential to reveal how energy is used within the home, including recognising individual appliances. ActewAGL will investigate how to reliably assess the operating efficiency of electric appliances over time, turning energy data into meaningful insights. If successful, this could enable early identification of appliance performance issues and help flag when something needs maintenance, repair or replacement.
By translating energy data into simple, personalised insights, such as how much appliances cost to run and when they are cheapest to use, ActewAGL aims to help customers take practical steps to lower their energy bills.
“Using data from the electricity smart meter, we are aiming to break down electricity use to the individual appliance level. This will support households to make small, everyday changes that add up to meaningful savings, as well as inform larger financial decisions about purchasing new appliances and investing in their own generation, such as solar or batteries,” said Todd Eagles.
For a Canberra household weighing up whether to replace a gas appliance or make the switch to electric, the question is not whether the technology is good enough. It’s about whether they’ll have the information they need at the time they need it. That’s what ActewAGL is working towards.
"Our research shows that more than half of households with gas in the ACT are already considering disconnecting their gas supply within the next ten years, and nearly one in seven plan to do so within two years," said Energy Consumers Australia CEO Dr Brendan French. "All-electric homes and businesses mean cheaper and more predictable energy bills and healthier places to live and work."
"Canberrans are leading the nation in electrification. But to sustain this momentum, households and small businesses need clear information, the right policy settings and targeted financial support at every step of the way," said Dr Brendan French.
If you are considering upgrading or replacing a major home appliance, visit Electrify with ActewAGL to get a personalised quote.
