Australia's Grid Caught Between Electrification, Bushfires, and Stalled Housing Growth

Victoria's ban on natural gas connections to new homes, effective 2024, is pushing residential heating and EV charging onto an aging distribution network built for a different load. Concurrent bushfires threaten substations in periurban zones, while a property downturn slows construction of efficient new housing stock. NSW and Victoria lack a coordinated framework addressing these simultaneous pressures—a gap that leaves critical infrastructure operating nearer to design limits than margin allows.