The Australian Gas Light Company (AGL) was an Australian gas and

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...

retailer, operated entirely by McCarthy Hanlin. It was formed in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

in 1837 and supplied

town gas Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made from coal and supplied to the user via a piped distribution system. It is produced when coal is heated strongly in the absence of air. Town gas is a more general term referring to manufactured gaseous ...

for the first public lighting of a street lamp in Sydney in 1841. AGL was the second company to list on the

Sydney Stock Exchange Australian Securities Exchange Ltd or ASX, is an Australian public company that operates Australia's primary securities exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange (sometimes referred to outside of Australia as, or confused within Australia as, ...

. The company gradually diversified into electricity and into a number of different locations. After a combination of a merger and demerger with

Alinta Alinta was an Australian energy infrastructure company. It has grown from a small, Western Australia-based gas distributor and retailer to the largest energy infrastructure company in Australia. It was bought in 2007 by a consortium including S ...

in 2006, it was replaced by

AGL Energy AGL Energy Ltd () is an Australian listed public company involved in both the generation and retailing of electricity and gas for residential and commercial use. AGL is Australia's largest electricity generator, and the nation's largest carbo ...

History

In 1837, AGL was given a

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...

charged with the responsibility of lighting Sydney's streets. The lights were lit on 24 May 1841 to celebrate the birthday of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

. Town gas was first stored in holder tanks hewn out of solid sandstone at

Darling Harbour Darling Harbour is a harbour adjacent to the city centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia that is made up of a large recreational and pedestrian precinct that is situated on western outskirts of the Sydney central business district. Origin ...

. Later, a large gas works at Mortlake supplied gas which was used over an area of 600 square kilometres and piped up to 25 kilometres away. The

Mortlake Ferry The Mortlake Ferry, also known as the Putney Punt, is a cable ferry that runs across the Parramatta River in Sydney, connecting Hilly Street in Mortlake and Pellisier Road in Putney. History and heritage The vehicular ferry between Mortlake an ...

was constructed with the express purpose of delivering workers who lived on the north side of the

harbour A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

to their workplace. By 1925, the company was the seventh largest gas undertaking in the British Empire. In 1976, AGL converted from town gas to

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

following the opening of the Moomba to Sydney Pipeline. In the later part of the 20th century, the company diversified into electricity generation, buying a stake in the

Loy Yang Power Station The Loy Yang Power Station is a brown coal- fired thermal power station located on the outskirts of the city of Traralgon, in south-eastern Victoria, Australia. It consists of two sections, known as Loy Yang A (4 units) and Loy Yang B (2 units). ...

and ownership of the

Kiewa Hydroelectric Scheme The Kiewa Hydroelectric Scheme is the largest hydro-electric scheme in the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria and the second-largest in mainland Australia after the Snowy Mountains Scheme. The ...

, the Wattle Point Wind Farm, and a peak load gas-powered power station near Hallett in South Australia. The company also had significant ownership of gas pipelines plus electricity and gas distribution networks in Australia. In late 2006, AGL merged with

and then demerged to create separate retail and infrastructure companies. The transactions were executed on 25 October 2006 via two

schemes of arrangement A scheme of arrangement (or a "scheme of reconstruction") is a court-approved agreement between a company and its shareholders or creditors (e.g. lenders or debenture holders). It may affect mergers and amalgamations and may alter shareholder or ...

, resulting in a revised Alinta holding both companies’ combined infrastructure and asset management businesses, and

, which holds AGL’s energy business as well as approximately one third of Alinta’s West Australian retail and cogeneration business (AlintaAGL).

References

External links

Australian Gas Light Company
{{Authority control Defunct utility companies of Australia Companies formerly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange Food and drink companies established in 1837 Energy companies established in 1837 Australian companies established in 1837 Defunct electric power companies of Australia

History

See also

References

External links