The ACT Government has won the Innovation Award at the Cities Power Partnership Climate Awards for their ‘Make Your Next Choice Electric’ web tool.
Shane Rattenbury, ACT Minister for Water, Energy and Emissions Reduction and Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability, said that winning the award showcases the ACT’s unwavering commitment to phasing out fossil-fuel gas and electrifying the city.
The Cities Power Partnership is Australia’s largest local government climate network, made up of more than 100 governments from across the country, representing almost 11 million Australians.
“We are thrilled to receive this recognition for two of the ACT’s key initiatives that are helping everyday Canberrans to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and reduce living costs,” Mr Rattenbury said.
“We know Canberrans care about the climate crisis and want to take positive action to reduce emissions.
The ACT Government and consumer advocacy group CHOICE created the free online tool in April to help Canberrans to transition their household to all-electric. It provides Canberrans with access to free, independent advice from CHOICE, which usually sits behind a paywall, to help households choose the best energy efficient options to replace old or broken gas appliances.
“The Make Your Next Choice Electric online tool is helping Canberrans to develop their own tailored household electrification plan to switch off gas at a time that suits them and find the best energy efficient electric appliances for their needs,” Mr Rattenbury said.
“The tool has been designed to be easy to use and it only takes 10 minutes to complete. Already, almost 5,000 Canberrans have used the tool to develop their own transition plan, and these plans have collectively identified more than 9,000 gas appliances to transition.
“If all of the 9,000 gas appliances identified in these transitions’ plans were switched out for electric appliances, Canberrans would save more than $6 million on energy bills and prevent more than 500,000 tonnes of [carbon dioxide] CO2 from being generated.”
Matthew Steen, Director, Reviews and Testing, CHOICE, said: “We’re pleased to see this transition tool recognised for its innovative nature and are enthused to see it continue to help all ACT residents. We are glad to have contributed by recommending appliances that have performed well in CHOICE’s tests at a range of prices.”
Mr Rattenbury thanked the Cities Power Partnership “for recognising the work that has gone into this tool, which is part of our plan to address climate change in the ACT”.
“With World EV Day tomorrow, this is also the perfect time to look into making your next vehicle choice electric,” the minister said.
“The ACT Government is a global leader in climate action offering a number of incentives to make owning a zero emissions vehicle a more affordable and accessible option for Canberrans. By making the switch, you will be contributing to reaching the ACT’s goal of zero emissions by 2045 and reducing some of the key pressures on everyday transport and rising energy costs.”
For more information on the ACT Government’s pathway to electrification and to try the ‘make your next choice electric’ tool, visit the ACT Government’s Energy website.
