Ausgrid is an

electricity distribution Electric power distribution is the final stage in the delivery of electric power; it carries electricity from the transmission system to individual consumers. Distribution substations connect to the transmission system and lower the transmissio ...

company which owns, maintains and operates the electrical networks supplying 1.8 million customers servicing more than 4 million people in Sydney, the Central Coast and

Hunter region The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and so ...

s of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It was formed in 2011 from the previously state-owned energy retailer/distributor,

EnergyAustralia EnergyAustralia (formerly TRUenergy) is an electricity generation, electricity and gas retailing private company in Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based and listed China Light and Power (CLP Group). EnergyAustralia also ...

, when the retail division of the company, along with the EnergyAustralia brand, was sold by the

Government of New South Wales The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of New South Wales. It is currently held by a coalition of the Liberal Party and the National Party. The Governmen ...

, and the remainder renamed Ausgrid.

Ownership

Ausgrid was wholly owned by the Government of New South Wales from 2011 to 2016. In 2016, the New South Wales Government offered the effective sale of a 50.4% stake in Ausgrid, through a 99-year lease. Initial bidding was won by a consortium of

State Grid Corporation of China The State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), commonly known as the State Grid, is a Chinese state-owned electric utility corporation. It is the largest utility company in the world, and as of 2022, the world's third largest company overall by re ...

and

Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings CK Infrastructure Holdings Limited (CKI), is the largest publicly listed infrastructure company in Hong Kong with diversified investments in energy infrastructure, transportation Infrastructure, water Infrastructure and infrastructure related ...

. On 11 August 2016 the Federal Government intervened to block the proposal, citing national security concerns regarding foreign ownership of critical infrastructure. In September 2016 the New South Wales Government instead accepted a bid from an Australian-based consortium of

AustralianSuper AustralianSuper is an Australian superannuation fund headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. With approximately one in every ten Australian workers as members, it is Australia's largest superannuation fund. AustralianSuper is an industry superan ...

and

IFM Investors IFM Investors is a provider of investment services. As at 30 June 2021, IFM Investors invests on behalf of more than 550 institutions worldwide, including pension, superannuation and sovereign wealth funds, universities, insurers, endowment fun ...

, for a sum of $16 billion.

History

Ausgrid has received numerous complaints and requests for better stakeholder management and consultation of the local community. Ausgrid was seen as forcing their network capacity increasing (and therefore profit increasing) projects onto local residential communities. Affected residents groups from the suburbs of

Leichhardt Leichhardt may refer to: * Division of Leichhardt, electoral District for the Australian House of Representatives * Leichhardt Highway, a highway of Queensland, Australia * Leichhardt Way, an Australian road route * Leichhardt, New South Wales, inn ...

Penshurst Penshurst is a historic village and civil parish located in a valley upon the northern slopes of the Kentish Weald, at the confluence of the River Medway and the River Eden, within the Sevenoaks district of Kent, England. The village is situa ...

and

East Lindfield East Lindfield is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. East Lindfield is located 13 kilometres north-west of the Sydney Central Business District in the local government area of Ku-ring-gai C ...

protested against proposed electricity infrastructure being installed in front of their residential homes without proper consultation or response to complaints by the community. The residents, after many urgent appeals to Ausgrid's COO Trevor Armstrong and the chairman Roger Massey-Green, had been given no other option to notify local MP's, the media, the Environmental Protection Authority and other authorities to get action against Ausgrid. Accusations were also made of Ausgrid "gold plating" its business at the expense of consumers to increase the price in privatisation. Ausgrid undertook the rapid replacement of its fleet of vehicles.

References

External links

ausgrid.com.au
{{Authority control Companies based in Sydney Companies established in 2011 Government-owned companies of New South Wales Electric power distribution network operators in Australia 2011 establishments in Australia Privately held companies of Australia

Ownership

History

See also

References

External links