Fact vs fiction: How the gas industry spins lies into advertising
The transition away from fossil fuels and toward electrification is well underway.
In Victoria, all new schools, hospitals, and residential subdivisions are now required to be fully electric. This switch is driven by both environmental and financial benefits – the Victorian government estimates that all-electric homes save new homeowners around $880 per year, or up to $1,820 annually with solar installed.
AGIG, which owns three major gas networks in Victoria and operates nationally, recently made a series of FALSE claims on LinkedIn to manipulate Australians' understanding of gas.
Climate Integrity has investigated each claim to outline AGIG’s deceptive tactics.
Gas cooktops have significant hidden costs
AGIG’s false claim: Gas cooktops have the lowest annual energy cost at $18.
Fact: This $18 estimate is likely based on a gas price assumption of 2.89 cents per MJ, which is significantly lower than the Victorian average of 3.52 cents per MJ.
AGIG also ignores the daily supply charge. In Victoria the average charge is currently 83.12 cents per day, or $301 a year. If a household had three gas appliances – such as a water heater, cooktop, and ducted gas heater – dividing the supply charge equally among them would increase the effective annual cost of the cooktop from $18 to $118.
The data on electric cooktops paints a different picture
AGIG’s false claim: “Electric coil or plate cooktops powered by the electricity grid are the most expensive to operate, with an annual energy cost of about $47 and average emissions of approximately 146 kg CO2-e.”
Fact: Even when comparing to one of the cheapest and least efficient electric cooktops on the market, we were unable to replicate AGIG’s figures under the same parameters and assumptions applied in their gas calculations. Without any methodological transparency, these figures appear not just overstated but intentionally misleading.
Gas cooktops are 50–65% less efficient
It appears that AGIG has compared time of use rather than actual output. This is like judging two runners based on how many minutes they ran for, rather than the distance they covered.
Gas cooktops are among the least efficient cooking methods, with only 30-40% of the energy reaching the pot – the rest is lost as excess heat warming your kitchen.
Electric cooktops are far more efficient, delivering 70-75% of their energy directly to cookware. Induction cooktops, the gold standard for efficiency, transfer 85-90% of their energy into the food or water being heated.
As a result, induction cooking requires less than 40% of the energy needed to boil the same pot of water on gas, while also completing the task significantly faster.
#4: Electrifying your cooking is not expensive
AGIG’s false claim: “Switching from gas to electric cooking can require additional expenses such as a kitchen wiring upgrade (typically costing between $1,000 and $4,000) not to mention the purchase of new pots and pans compatible with induction cooking.”
Fact: IKEA sells plug-in induction cooktops for $49. Kmart for $52. A 5-piece cookware set that works with induction costs $55. While entire kitchen remodels are expensive, there are cheap electrification solutions that can be implemented today. And the savings made from ongoing operating costs means you can make back the cost of installation fairly quickly.
Cooktops powered by 100% renewable electricity produce zero emissions
AGIG’s false claim: “Gas cooktops have ... the lowest annual emissions (32kg CO2-e).”
Fact: For households relying solely on grid electricity, emissions can still be higher than gas at certain times – particularly in the evenings – due to Victoria’s lingering reliance on brown coal. However, this is changing rapidly. Victoria’s grid is transitioning to clean energy, with the state committed to reaching 50% renewables by 2030 and 95% by 2035.
As a result, electricity emissions will continue to decline, making electric cooktops the cleaner long-term choice
Key takeaway
A typical gas cooktop lasts about 15 years, meaning its lifetime emissions total approximately 480kg CO₂-e – equivalent to 2,000 tram trips in Melbourne or a flight from Sydney to Auckland.
For anyone installing a cooktop today, induction is the clear choice for minimising lifetime emissions.
The law often struggles to keep pace with evolving marketing tactics, and the current legal framework has not always been stringent enough to prevent misleading claims, especially when the distinction between marketing puffery and clear misinformation becomes blurred.
Stronger legal parameters are needed going forward to focus on holding corporations accountable for their claims and ensuring they are subject to rigorous scrutiny when it comes to advertising.