Council on the Ageing (COTA) Victoria

COTA was awarded the 2023 Vulnerability Research Grant to undertake their research which is focusing on how older customers (aged 65+) are experiencing the current energy transition, including the barriers they are facing and the impact that current processes are having on them.

Research objectives

  • To explore the views of older consumers on their experience, awareness and views of energy transition processes and opportunities, including the value they place on issues such as (but not limited to) reliability, resilience, digital exclusion, climate change mitigation and electrification.
  • To identify the views of older consumers on future energy consumption behaviors as Australia undergoes the energy transition, including how they see their energy needs and priorities changing over a longer timeframe (10-20 years) in the context of the energy transition.
  • To develop a greater understanding of how older people are experiencing the ongoing energy transition, including its relationship with age-related vulnerabilities and how to support a more vulnerable cohort with diverse capabilities in regard to energy transition.
  • To identify potential opportunities to address identified risks or impacts on older consumers in regard to the energy transition, including potential policy changes and program options.

Listening to our customers is important to us. If you have any thoughts, insights or concerns on how the energy transition is affecting older Victorians, please let us know by filling out the following form.

Key findings

The report details the key findings split into 4 key segments, to summarise:

Older people’s perspectives on the changing energy landscape

Older individuals generally support the energy transition, motivated by a sense of responsibility for future generations. While most survey respondents recognize the impact of climate change on their energy decisions, some express skepticism about the urgency of reducing gas use, feeling that changes are being imposed for ideological or commercial reasons, and raising concerns about the reliability of the electricity grid amid recent outages.

Positive drivers for change

Focus group participants exhibited a range of responses to the energy transition, with some fully switching to electric and many still using gas appliances.

Survey results revealed that 54% had taken no action, with about half not considering any changes, while 29% had made significant adjustments, primarily driven by rising gas costs.

Additionally, participants indicated that other motivating factors, such as health and environmental concerns, were necessary to spur action, often opting to wait for existing appliances to fail or for life changes before making modifications.

Barriers to Change

Participants cited various reasons for not changing their energy systems, including a preference for gas appliances and feelings of hesitance or skepticism about the benefits.

Concerns about the reliability of electricity supply and doubts about renewables were common, alongside worries about transition costs and the likelihood of recouping expenses. Renters and retirement village residents faced significant barriers, with 95% reporting they couldn't make desired changes.

Information and advice

Participants emphasized the need for trustworthy, comprehensive, and transparent information regarding energy transitions, criticizing existing advice as often ideological or overly commercial. They expressed a desire to consult directly with experts and peers, and called for integrated information sources, including a centralized website and community engagement, with a preference for advice from government and community agencies rather than retailers.

COTA has provided a number of recommendations for AusNet and the broader electricity sector (including government) to reduce the identified risks amongst customers experiencing vulnerability. They are:

1. Develop a dedicated web and phone hub that can provide general and personalised practical information and advice to older people on all energy transition matters.

2. Support local community education initiatives to help older people better understand and respond to the energy transition.

3. The Victorian Government to review and revise concessions, subsidies, rebates and other financial tools to make them more accessible and easier to navigate for older people, and that they support and encourage shifts to cleaner energy use rather than just prop up old inefficient sources and behaviours.

4. Provide additional support and incentives for landlords to upgrade energy connections and appliances, with particular targeting of older long-term renters in largely unrenovated properties and those renting homes as part of independent living arrangements for older people.

5. Enhanced collection and sharing of data on the role and impact of the energy transition on ageing to inform government and sector responses.

6. See the full project report at https://cotavic.org.au/policy/publication/our-ener... for more detail on these recommendations and how they might be implemented.

AusNet has responded to these recommendations, identifying initiatives that are already underway to address these risks, or where AusNet can further improve processes to adopt the recommendations.

The report with AusNets response is available here