Australia’s path to net zero hinges on action. Drawing from Canberra’s pioneering efforts, former ACT Chief Engineer Adrian Piani explores the practical engineering, policy and infrastructure challenges of electrifying cities at scale – and the opportunities that come with getting started now. Delaying decisions risks future disruption. The time to plan, upgrade and lead is now.
Back in 2021, the ACT made a decision to electrify. It was a decision born not of ideology but of engineering pragmatism. The territory government released a position paper in August the following year that has since driven the planning and execution of an electrified city. And if Australia is serious about reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, more cities and towns must make similarly pragmatic decisions.
We made the decision in the ACT because the numbers told us it was the right thing to do. There’s no viable long-term future for fossil fuel gas in a net-zero system. While alternatives like hydrogen may have a place in some sectors, none are currently cost-effective or commercially viable for residential use. In contrast, electrification is proven, scalable and available right now. And once that decision is made, the real engineering work begins.
Electrification at a city scale is a complex but achievable endeavour. What our experience in Canberra shows is that the earlier a city makes the call, the more time it has to solve the myriad challenges involved – and the better placed it is to do so economically, strategically and sustainably.
Larger cities such as Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane will face greater infrastructure demands due to their sprawl and scale. But the fundamentals don’t change: electrification is likely inevitable if we are to meet our climate targets, and delaying only makes it harder. Every year of hesitation shortens the runway for transformation. Targets are commendable – but without a concrete plan, they are simply good intentions on paper.
Upgrading brownfield infrastructure: lessons from the ACT
Once you’ve committed to electrification, two main engineering challenges emerge: first, upgrading the electricity network; second, retrofitting individual buildings – especially existing medium- and high-density developments – to run entirely on electric systems.
At a network level, it’s a strategic infrastructure challenge. You can’t simply bolt on new capacity in an ad hoc way. It requires careful planning and coordination to ensure that the network can manage increased loads from the new electrical kit such as heat pumps, EV chargers and electric public transport fleets. In Canberra, we’ve had to invest in strategic upgrades to electricity feeders servicing bus depots, for example, to support the electrification of our fleet.
At the building level, residential houses are relatively straightforward to electrify. The real engineering complexity lies in apartment blocks and commercial buildings, especially brownfield sites. We’ve seen how replacing gas equipment with heat pumps often requires significant changes to physical plant layouts – larger units, noise considerations, structural loads, even access to the right spaces. We’re currently running pilot projects across seven building types to better understand and address these challenges. So far, it seems clear that it can be done. It will just take planning, collaboration and a willingness to compromise and optimise.
Policy harmonisation and the problem of gas
One of the less visible – but equally critical – challenges is policy and regulatory harmonisation across jurisdictions. Unlike the ACT, which functions as both a local and state government, most jurisdictions have fragmented layers of authority. Councils, state governments and national regulators all need to work together, and our current regulatory frameworks weren’t built with gas phase-out in mind.
For instance, there is no established mechanism to wind down the gas network in a coordinated way. Do we decommission pipes at the household meter, at the street level or further upstream? What are the safety implications of unused gas infrastructure remaining in the ground? These are fundamental engineering and governance questions – and we don’t yet have clear answers.
Nor do we have a consensus on how to avoid the “death spiral” scenario, where the gas network remains in place but with fewer and fewer users, driving up costs for those who can’t afford to switch. Again, this comes back to planning – and the need for strategic, nationally coordinated decisions rather than fingers-crossed optimism that a new fuel will emerge to save the day.
Engineering a national opportunity
There is also an economic opportunity in this transition. Electrification at scale will require billions of dollars’ worth of new equipment – much of it currently manufactured overseas. This presents a compelling case for Australia to invest in advanced manufacturing, whether that’s producing heat pumps locally or focusing on high-value components like compressors. We have a proven track record in engineering innovation – so why not export that knowledge to the world?
Beyond manufacturing, there’s an opportunity to lead in electrification expertise. Australian engineers are already doing the hard yards in cities like Canberra, building the knowledge and capacity to retrofit buildings, upgrade networks and manage complex transitions. That intellectual capital can become one of our greatest exports – but only if we keep moving forward.
Make the call, then get to work
Ultimately, this is not about wishful thinking or waiting for silver bullets. It’s about making a plan and delivering it. The ACT is showing that it’s possible. Other cities must now follow suit.
Electrification is not a question of if, but when. And every year we wait is another year lost.
Adrian Piani FIEAust CPEng EngExec, is Regional Market Leader, GHD and former Chief Engineer of the ACT. Join him at Engineers Australia’s Climate Smart Engineering (CSE) conference 2025. August 27-28 at the Adelaide Convention Centre.
Great article pointing out the network effects of increasing use of electricity. We had a power failure locally, just recently, and I spoke with the grid maintenance guys. They are out daily replacing and up-grading local sub-station kit due to increasing overload occurrences.
On gas; we need to keep as many gas appliances, and industrial processes as are currently using gas, as possible. Stratetigic risk and resilience assessment dictate this.
On electrification at the point of use; we will need more base load power to provide the reliability to handle the demand as and when it will be required. Solar and wind won’t do that.
Good work Adrian & constructive comments Harry. Thank you.
I do however challenge the comment in closing by Adrian: “Other cities must follow suit”
From a RISK Engineering perspective, “we should not have all our eggs in the one electron reliant basket”. Others Cities must be encouraged to continue to innovate.
As one of many mechanical engineers involved in the “Energy Transition” I see there are other potentially viable alternatives.
The electron only approach is claimed by Adrian to be proved however there are still hurdles to overcome. Events like: next week in my area there will be no gas to my area in Melbourne for up to 10 hours (for essential maintenance) It likely to be a cold day. Fortunately, I still have half my gas home heating that does not rely on electrons. So I will stay warm but many of my neighbours won’t, even there solar panels won’t work unless they are able to use their battery back up (safely?)
The Barwon South West Renewable Hydrogen Prospectus was released as part of the communities Hydrogen Strategy & also Launched the Viva Energy Hydrogen refuelling station.
This is a pilot program to build knowledge around the feasibility of a green hydrogen Region.
Already, garbage is being collected in quiet Hydrogen fuelled trucks & there are a couple CDC HFC busses.
Viva intend to import Natural gas from elsewhere in Australia and blend in green hydrogen so that the Gas network can be supplemented as Victorian reserves deplete over coming years.
In the longer term green synthetic gases will also be added to the mix.
As well as gas being an alternative source of energy, hydrogen is required to remove diesel fuel from road transport. Hydrogen has a better weight to energy ratio for long haul transport.
Viva is also well placed to provide synthetic Jet Fuel.
Good work Adrian & constructive comments Harry. Thank you.
I do however challenge the comment in closing by Adrian: “Other cities must follow suit”
From a RISK Engineering perspective, “we should not have all our eggs in the one electron reliant basket”. Others Cities must be encouraged to continue to innovate.
As one of many mechanical engineers involved in the “Energy Transition” I see there are other potentially viable alternatives.
The electron only approach is claimed by Adrian to be proved however there are still hurdles to overcome. Events like: next week in my area there will be no gas to my area in Melbourne for up to 10 hours (for essential maintenance) It likely to be a cold day. Fortunately, I still have half my gas home heating that does not rely on electrons. So I will stay warm but many of my neighbours won’t, even there solar panels won’t work unless they are able to use their battery back up (safely?)
The Barwon South West Renewable Hydrogen Prospectus was released as part of the communities Hydrogen Strategy & also Launched the Viva Energy Hydrogen refuelling station.
This is a pilot program to build knowledge around the feasibility of a green hydrogen Region.
Already, garbage is being collected in quiet Hydrogen fuelled trucks & there are a couple CDC HFC busses.
Viva intend to import Natural gas from elsewhere in Australia and blend in green hydrogen so that the Gas network can be supplemented as Victorian reserves deplete over coming years.
In the longer term green synthetic gases will also be added to the mix.
As well as gas being an alternative source of energy, hydrogen is required to remove diesel fuel from road transport. Hydrogen has a better weight to energy ratio for long haul transport.
Viva is also well placed to provide synthetic Jet Fuel.
It’s a good question – “where’s the plan for net zero?”. Australia has vast space, strong solar irradiance, mature technology and expertise.
In my opinion, electric public transport with solar charging is an effective way to educate the general public about the linkage between solar and EVs. Public transport companies should start with a small scale project by identifying a strategic location where it has solar charging station and the bus route has certain number of passengers with short travelling distance. Subsequently, the outcomes of this small scale project can be shared. It can be expanded further.
We must lift the ban on nuclear if we are to continue to have a stable, reliable, controllable electricity supply. Solar panels, wind turbines and batteries are not the answer. There is no way that that they can control voltage, power or frequency and require a huge amount of land area for this form of generation and transmission, plus a tremendous amount of transmission, storage and maintenance and cannot ensure that supply equals demand.