Changing to electricity isn't as expensive as it seems as electric heating is 100% efficient - all the heat goes into the system, whereas a gas boiler is only 60-80% efficient, depending on lots of things. So you cannot simply compare kWhr prices for electricity and gas. Electricity will be more expensive than mains gas for as long as politics and the public demand it to be so.
Electric heating is only 100% efficient at
the point of use.
But as an energy supply, it is, has long been, about 3x the price per unit delivered, and that reflects all kinds of things: inc upstream inefficiencies in raw supply, and the overhead costs, subsidies, and inefficiencies of the delivery network (including the wholesale gaming of when to sell the power you generate into a short term market measured in minutes!) . While our UK baseline now remains c 50% CCGT - which alone maxes out at
around 48% efficacy in conversion of the same natural gas to electricity as a giant, very-mechanically-efficient, prime-mover source.
...
Now we are also at a point that measuring housing design as the EPC and BRUKL does to date by C02 loading means that we are seeing a large resurgence in electric heating source
only for all domestic demand - heat, hot water, cooking -(because the UK Grid has decarbonised at an incredible rate over last 10yrs or so) and it''s counted a 'good thing' - leaving the homeowners/ esp new renters ( a LOT of this is in PRS rental schemes by huge landlords*) paying 2-3x what they might have budgeted on energy per month based on domestic heat / hotwater via Mains gas. 'Oh it's low carbon, therefore total energy use and energy cost-in-use is less important', Well, no that wasn't
ever the case - for either considerations.
tl;dr:
This stuff requires a far more nuanced discussion than generally happens.
PS Proposed England & Wales AppDoc Part L (Energy efficiency of new buildings) 2020 consultation closed on Friday night. It will actually make things objectively worse in several senses, short- and long-term, than 2013 regs; & was met with lots of opposition as a result... That's a thing for a.n.other rant.
* like Legal & General, amongst others - it means minimal CapEx on the build, and no annual gascheck service liability per apartment as landlord; all the upscaled running cost issues becomes the Tenant's problem in a Victorian 'eff em if they don't like it, we'll rent to someone else' manner.
I've yet to see a convincing explanation otherwise - when in other commercial/institutional schemes we are installing CHP units that run to generate a small amount of electrical power off the gas main, when we can use all the thermal output (heating/district-heating / scheme domestic hot water also; and have detailed models to justify
that approach in each case, on not just C02 but
total CapEx+ lifecycle costings too. (No, I can't share examples... wish I could)
As I said - the whole approach requires nuanced & considered discussion.