All-Electric vs Keeping Gas in 2026: Does Disconnecting Pay?

"Should I go all-electric?" is one of the most common questions we get — and the honest answer is: it depends on your appliances, your gas bill, and whether you're paying a daily supply charge for gas you barely use. This guide walks through where the money actually is, so you can make the call on evidence rather than hype.

Why the gas supply charge changes everything

Most Australian homes on mains gas pay two things: the gas you burn, and a fixed daily supply charge just to stay connected. That supply charge is the quiet killer. If you've already cut your gas use down to one appliance — say, a cooktop or a space heater you rarely run — you can end up paying more in standing charges than in actual gas.

The first number to find is on your own bill: your gas daily supply charge and your annual gas spend. We don't have a national figure to quote (supply charges are retailer- and network-set), so pull your last four quarterly bills and add up the fixed charges separately from the usage. If the fixed portion dominates, full electrification — and permanent disconnection — starts to look compelling, because disconnecting removes that charge entirely.

The three appliances that actually matter

Not all gas appliances are equal. These three drive the economics:

• Hot water — usually the biggest single energy load in the home. A heat-pump hot water system is the standout swap. It earns federal STCs under the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme, which are already baked into the "after rebate" price retailers quote. We don't have a reliable national installed-after-rebate figure to quote here, so get written quotes and confirm the current STC value for your state.
• Space heating — a reverse-cycle air conditioner running in heat mode is typically far more efficient per unit of heat than gas ducted or flued heaters, especially if you already have the aircon for summer cooling.
• Cooking — the smallest energy user of the three, but often the last gas appliance standing. An induction cooktop performs well, but swapping cooking alone rarely justifies the change on running costs — it matters because it's what finally lets you disconnect and kill the supply charge.

The order matters: hot water and heating deliver the real savings; cooking is the one that unlocks disconnection.

Running costs: the honest comparison

Electric appliances win on efficiency, but your per-unit electricity rate decides how much you keep. If you have solar, running a heat pump or cooking during the day uses power you'd otherwise export for very little — feed-in tariffs now sit in a typical range of 3–10 c/kWh and have trended down for years. Self-consuming that power instead of exporting it is where electrification and solar reinforce each other.

On a time-of-use tariff, peak pricing (commonly around 2–8pm, later in some states) is where electric heating can get expensive if you run it at the wrong time. Check your actual tariff from your bill before assuming electric is always cheaper hour-for-hour.

Here's the catch — when disconnecting gas doesn't pay

Electrification is not automatically a win. Watch for these:

• Replacing working appliances early. If your gas hot water unit is only a few years old, scrapping it for a heat pump means writing off a working asset. The maths usually works best at natural replacement time.
• Abolishment and upgrade costs. Permanently disconnecting gas can carry a network abolishment fee, and swapping appliances may need electrical work — switchboard or circuit upgrades. These one-off costs can delay payback by years. We have no national figure for these; get quotes.
• High-use cooking households. If you genuinely love gas cooking and your gas bill is modest relative to the switchover cost, the comfort case may outweigh the money case. That's a legitimate choice.

If your gas usage is already low and the supply charge is most of your bill, disconnection tends to pay. If you're a heavy gas user replacing newish appliances, the payback can stretch out well beyond what the brochures imply.

How to decide, step by step

• Separate the fixed supply charge from usage on a full year of gas bills.
• Identify which gas appliances you still run, and their age.
• Price the swaps that matter — hot water first, then heating — and confirm the current STC value for your state.
• Factor in disconnection and any switchboard costs.
• Check your electricity tariff and whether you have solar or a free-power window to soak up daytime loads.

Do that and the answer stops being a guess. For most low-gas-use homes it leans towards all-electric; for heavy users with newer gas gear, keeping gas a while longer can be the smarter money move.

We sell no appliances, no solar and no installs — so we've no reason to push you off gas or keep you on it. We model your actual bills and tell you straight whether disconnecting pays for your household, or whether you're better off waiting. The advice is the product.

Figures in this guide are current at the date of publication and indicative only — rebate and certificate values change over time (federal battery certificates step down each January and July), and state schemes are amended often. Confirm the current numbers for your situation before you commit. This is general information, not personal financial advice.