REGIONAL END-USE GAS DEMAND IN AUSTRALIA

End-use energy models explain the demand for energy by households at t he level of specific end uses, such as space heating, cooking and wate r heating. An important advantage of end-use energy models is their us efulness in analyzing complex policy questions relevant to understandi ng and managing the demand for energy. With data available on total ho usehold gas demand and appliance ownership, the statistical method of conditional demand analysis (CDA) is utilized to estimate the end-use consumptions of reticulated gas in Australia. We extend the existing l iterature by expanding the scope of the analysis to different regions of Australia thus providing a comprehensive national picture of end-us e gas consumption and facilitating interregional comparisons. Our resu lts show that there are significant interregional differences in the g as consumption for different end uses. Energy policies which ignore th ese interregional differences, for example, national policies aimed at persuading households to switch from electricity to gas in order to r educe CO2 emissions, are likely to lead to inefficient or ineffective outcomes.