Australian Pipelines and Gas Association Chief Executive Cheryl Cartwright said the figures, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics publication Energy Accounts Australia 2013-14 (cat no. 4604.0), showed that gas and electricity supplied almost the same amount of energy to households.
“The ABS found that gas, including both natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas, provided 205 petajoules (PJ) of energy to households in 2013-14,”? Ms Cartwright said.
“Over the same period, electricity (including rooftop solar) provided 216 PJ to households.
“Importantly, those 205 PJ of gas cost households a total of $6.2 billion, while the cost of the 216 PJ of electricity was substantially higher at $16.1 billion.
“That means a petajoule of gas cost households $30.2 million in 2013-14 while households paid $74.5 million for a petajoule of electricity. That’s a significant difference.
The ABS publication shows that total household energy demand was 1,054 PJ and total household cost was $47.3 billion. Petrol and diesel products accounted for the majority of household net use of energy.
“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 our carbon emissions, and that is also a very good reason for households to switch to gas.
“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.”?