Introducing This is Electric!

We founded This is Electric because we want to do something about climate change.

This is Electric is an innovative electrical company that supports communities, businesses and households transition to renewable energy and get off gas and fossil fuels.

As a social enterprise, This is Electric promotes energy democracy, equity and social justice.

We want the transition to renewable energy to not only be rapid, but fair and equitable, with benefits shared locally in our communities.

Desert adventures

Inspiration for the enterprise came from the breathing space and adventure of a family holiday in remote Australia in 2023.

In the middle of a cold Tassie winter, we packed up our not-so-trusty van, two young kids and a four person tent, and left our home in nipaluna / Hobart.

After a rough ride on the Spirit of Tasmania (through 8 metre swells 😱), we travelled through the Flinders Ranges in SA and made it all the way to Uluru and Alice Springs.

And then we turned left.

The desert tracks west of Alice Springs took us through remote Aboriginal communities Papunya, Kintore, Kiwirrkurra, Kunawaritji and Punmu and the most spectacular and breathtaking country.

Forests of desert oaks whistling in the breeze (these trees feature on our homepage) and fields of honey grevillea and desert flowers, dripping with nectar.

Photo of a honey grevillea flower dripping with nectar in Kiwirrkurra country, WA.

But....

The cost of fuel through the desert was exorbitant.

And many of the communities we travelled through were reliant on diesel generators to power the local shop, the school, lights and air conditioners to keep families cool in the heat of the day.

Solar power was nowhere to be seen, in the sunniest place ever.

In my work as a welfare rights lawyer in the NT, I’ve seen first hand some of barriers faced by communities engaging in this space.

For example, most community housing is government owned and tenants don’t have a say.

And the benefits of large scale solar and other renewable energy projects operating near these communities are not always being shared or distributed fairly.

Original Power and other fabulous Aboriginal led organisations are doing something about this.

See the Marlinja Community Solar Project as an exciting example.

But there is still plenty of work ahead for us all.

We need to enable a just transition to renewable energy, and ensure that technologies and the benefits reach the people affected by climate change the most.

Local community projects

Our dream is to promote social impact and climate justice in the energy space at a national level.

We want to support regional and remote communities, businesses and households to participate actively in, and benefit from, the transition to renewable energy.

All over Australia.

But we also want to support projects and drive change in our local community in nipaluna / Hobart.

We are conscious of how lucky we are. We feel strongly that those of us that can make changes to reduce our emissions and get off gas and fossil fuels, need to be taking action now. This can pave the way and make it easier for those facing barriers.

Next steps

We’re excited to see what projects we get off the ground in 2024!

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