A new report from Council on the Ageing (COTA) Victoria has gathered the perspectives of older Victorians on the shift to cleaner and more sustainable energy.
Our energy futures: Older Victorians navigating the energy transition – available in full or as a condensed summary – was launched today in a joint webinar from COTA Victoria and AusNet. It shows that while older people generally held a positive view on the need for the energy transition, some will face a range of financial and practical barriers in their journey.
The report details those barriers alongside positive drivers for change and, most importantly, provides succinct recommendations to make the transition as easy as possible for older customers.
“Our report shows that older Victorians are willing to take part in this energy transition,” said COTA Victoria CEO, Ben Rogers.
“Many are already getting on board with changes to their household energy sources and appliances. Some would like to do more but simply cannot — particularly those renting their homes.”
The report found that others remain sceptical about the benefits of change, are too attached to existing appliances, or are simply confused about how to proceed.
“Older people generally said they did not trust a lot of the information they are exposed to on this subject and resent being pushed into change,” Mr Rogers said.
“They want facts and advice, delivered by independent sources who understand their perspective and needs.
“Our report makes clear a targeted effort is required to make older Victorians more comfortable and accurately informed about the overall energy transition as it ramps up. We need to empower older people to make enlightened decisions about changing their energy arrangements as they age.”
AusNet Chief Executive Officer, David Smales said the research provides a valuable contribution to the energy sector’s collective understanding of this group’s energy needs and priorities and how they are evolving.
“We’re pleased to see what COTA has achieved through AusNet’s Vulnerability Research Grant,” he said.
“AusNet’s networks service a high proportion of older customers, and we will be using the insights from this project to improve our services and planning moving forward.
“The findings of this research will help us address the unique challenges faced by older customers and inform AusNet’s future plans and policy work as we continue through the energy transition,” said Mr Smales.
