Ausgrid

Ausgrid
TypePrivate
IndustryUtility
PredecessorEnergyAustralia
Founded1 March 2011 (2011-03-01)
Headquarters
Sydney
,
Australia
Area served
Sydney, Central Coast, Hunter Region
Key peopleMarc England (CEO)
ServicesElectricity distribution
OwnerAustralianSuper and IFM Investors - 50.4% Government of New South Wales - 49.6%
Websitewww.ausgrid.com.au
Ausgrid's old HQ building, Sydney

Ausgrid is an electricity distribution company which owns and operates the electrical networks supplying 1.8 million customers servicing more than 4 million people in Sydney, the Central Coast and Hunter regions of New South Wales, Australia. It was formed in 2011 from the state-owned energy retailer/distributor, EnergyAustralia, when the retail division of the company, along with the EnergyAustralia brand, was sold by the Government of New South Wales, and the remainder renamed Ausgrid.

History

Ausgrid has received numerous complaints and requests for better stakeholder management and consultation of the local community. Ausgrid was seen as forcing its network capacity increasing (and therefore profit increasing) projects onto local residential communities. Residents in the suburbs of Leichhardt, Penshurst and East Lindfield protested against proposed electricity infrastructure being installed near their homes without proper consultation or response to complaints by the community. The residents, after many urgent appeals to Ausgrid's former COO Trevor Armstrong and the former chairman Roger Massey-Green, instead notified local MPs, the media, the Environmental Protection Authority and other authorities.

Ausgrid was also accused of "gold plating" its assets to inflate the privatisation price. Ausgrid undertook the rapid replacement of its fleet of vehicles.[citation needed]

Ownership

Ausgrid was wholly owned by the Government of New South Wales from 2011 to 2016. In 2016, the New South Wales Government offered a 99-year lease of a 50.4% stake in Ausgrid. Initial bidding was won by a consortium of State Grid Corporation of China and Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings. On 11 August 2016 the Federal Government blocked the proposal on national security grounds over foreign ownership of critical infrastructure. In September 2016 the New South Wales Government accepted a $16 billion bid from Australian-based consortium AustralianSuper and IFM Investors.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Oates, Tayla (17 January 2023). "New Ausgrid CEO announced". Utility Magazine.
  2. ↑ "About us". Ausgrid. 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  3. ↑ Carey, Alexis (11 April 2013). "High voltage debate rages on as Leichhardt residents protest cable". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  4. ↑ Galinovic, Maria (22 November 2013). "Residents tell Ausgrid: back off". St George & Sutherland Shire Leader.
  5. ↑ Galinovic, Maria (2 December 2013). "Police intervene in stand-off between Ausgrid and angry Penhurst residents". St George & Sutherland Shire Leader.
  6. ↑ "Action campaign in East Lindfield". The Daily Telegraph.
  7. ↑ "High voltage underground power lines dig up community anger as their local roads are trenched". The Daily Telegraph. 27 March 2015.
  8. ↑ Moore, Matthew (11 March 2011). "March of the tall grey poles has residents fuming". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  9. ↑ "Ausgrid Fluid-filled cable replacement" (PDF). www.aer.gov.au.
  10. 1 2 "Treasurer blocks sale of Ausgrid to Chinese, Hong Kong bidders". ABC News. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
  11. ↑ Massola, James; Wen, Phillip; Robins, Brian; Nicholls, Sean (11 August 2016). "Treasurer Scott Morrison blocks sale of Ausgrid to foreign bidders". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  12. ↑ Austin, Greg. "China and Ausgrid: Are Australia's National Security Concerns Justified?". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 14 August 2016.
  13. ↑ McNally, Lucy (20 October 2016). "Ausgrid sale: Baird Government sells half to Australian firms for $16 billion". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 23 May 2018.