00:00Esperance, on the south coast of Western Australia, is known for its white sandy beaches and turquoise
00:08water.
00:09But in energy circles, Esperance is becoming known for something else.
00:12It's the town that's getting off gas.
00:14The energy transition program that we've put in place is really a microcosm of what Australia
00:20and indeed the world is trying to do.
00:22In the past couple of years, more than 300 homes and much of the town's population have
00:27been switched from gas to electricity.
00:29Among them is Sharon Vermaes.
00:32In place of a gas stove, she now has an electric induction cooktop.
00:36And instead of a gas hot water system, there is an electric heat pump.
00:40A new wind and solar farm north of Esperance is helping to power this extra demand for
00:44electricity.
00:45That was effectively necessary because there'd be some structural issues to do with the gas
00:51suppliers.
00:52But it's a good example of necessity being the mother of invention, really.
00:56But it's not all plain sailing.
00:58Some homes and businesses have been unable to get off gas, forced to use bottles.
01:03And a new gas-fired power plant still provides about half the town's power.
01:07Another challenge of getting off gas is simply the cost.
01:11Electric appliances like induction stoves and heat pumps don't come cheap.
01:15And some households' power supplies need to be upgraded as well.
01:19By some estimates, each house here in Esperance has cost between $10,000 and $15,000 to electrify.
01:26However, the savings are really, really quite large.
01:29So some of our customers experienced about a 60% saving off their bill.
01:34The trick here is that because it's difficult to do, doesn't mean we don't do it.
01:40Sharon Vermey agrees costs can be steep, and is thankful the WA government helped foot
01:45the bill in her case.
01:47My husband's retired now, so it would have been hard.
01:50The challenges of changing technologies.
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