The

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 ...

n state of Victoria has a number of defunct energy supply and distribution utility companies.

The North Melbourne Electric Tramways and Lighting Company

The North Melbourne Electric Tramways and Lighting Company operated an electric tramway system beginning in 1906, with the network being based upon the suburb of

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United King ...

. The company also supplied electric power to the neighbouring suburbs from its power station on Mount Alexander Road, near the intersection with South Street. The power generation side of the company was acquired by the

State Electricity Commission of Victoria The State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SECV, ECV or SEC) is a government-owned electricity supplier in Victoria, Australia. It was set up in 1918, and by 1972 it was the sole agency in the state for electricity generation, transmission, ...

in 1922,Public Records Office: Agency VA 1002: State Electricity Commission of Victoria
when its 15-year franchise expired, and the tram side was acquired by the

Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board The Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB) was a government-owned authority that was responsible for the tram network in Melbourne, Australia between 1919 and 1983, when it was merged into the Metropolitan Transit Authority. It had bee ...

on 21 December 1922.

Melbourne Electric Supply Company

The Melbourne Electric Supply Company was registered in 1899 as the Electric Lighting and Traction Company of Australia, led by F. W. Clements and assisted by

Herbert Reah Harper Herbert Reah Harper (23 June 1871 – 27 July 1956) was a British born, Australian electrical engineer who played an important role in the development of first the Melbourne electric supply and then the State Electricity Commission of Victoria. ...

. The company's records go back to 1892. It was registered in England, and started supplying power to Melbourne and

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

before purchasing the

South Australian Electric Light and Motive Power Company The Electricity Trust of South Australia (ETSA) was the South Australian Government-owned monopoly vertically integrated electricity provider from 1946 until its privatisation in 1999. Precursors Early days (1882–1900) Charles Todd, an ea ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is the main port for the ...

, in the colony of South Australia. The company was renamed to the Melbourne Electric Supply Company in 1908. The company operated the

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

and Geelong power stations. In July 1910, it was granted a 30-year lease to operate the electric tramway system in Geelong. The company was acquired by the

in 1930, before the expiration of the 30-year franchise of the electricity business.

Electric Supply Company of Victoria

The Electric Supply Company of Victoria was a British company with its headquarters in the English city of

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

. It was formed in 1903 as a subsidiary of the

British Insulated Wire Company British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

. The company operated power stations and electric

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

ways in the regional cities of

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

and

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

. The Electric Supply Company of Victoria was acquired by the

in 1934, when its 30-year franchise expired.

Metropolitan Gas Company

The Metropolitan Gas Company was set up for the supply of

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 ...

to the city of

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. it was absorbed into the

Gas and Fuel Corporation of Victoria The Gas and Fuel Corporation of Victoria (G&FC) was a government-owned monopoly supplier of household gas in Victoria, Australia. It was established in 1950 and took over two of the three main gas utilities in Melbourne – the Metropolitan Gas C ...

in 1951.Australian Science at Work: Metropolitan Gas Company
/ref>

Ballarat Gas Company

The Ballarat Gas Company was set up to supply town gas to the city of

in 1857.The Ballarat Gas Company's Act 1857
/ref> The company was wound up upon the introduction of natural gas to Ballarat in early 1970s.

Geelong Gas Company

The Geelong Gas Company was set up to supply town gas to the city of

in 1858. It was purchased by the

in 1971 when

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 ...

was introduced to the city.

State Electricity Commission of Victoria

The State Electricity Commission of Victoria was a state owned utility established in 1919 to manage the generation and distribution of electricity in Victoria, as well as to maintain and operate the three provincial electric tramways acquired from the Electric Supply Company of Victoria Ltd. (Ballarat and Bendigo) and the Melbourne Electric Supply Company Ltd (Geelong). The commission was split into three parts in 1993: generation, transmission, and retail. In 1994 these parts were again split and later privatised.

Gas and Fuel Corporation of Victoria

The Gas and Fuel Corporation of Victoria was established in 1950. It took over two of the three main gas utilities in Melbourne - the Metropolitan Gas Company and the Brighton Gas Company, and over time acquired the other local gas authorities and private gas companies. As part of the conversion to natural gas, in 1971 the G&FC acquired the

Geelong Gas Company The Geelong Gas Company was a private company set up to produce and distribute town gas in the city of Geelong. From a gasworks in North Geelong it converted coal into town gas for use in homes and industry. The company was founded in 1858 and e ...

, one of only two remaining private gas companies in Victoria at the time. The Ballarat Gas Company closed at the time. The G&FC was disaggregated in the 1990s, privatised and wound up in June 1995.

References

{{EnergyVictoria Energy companies of Australia Utility companies in Victoria, Australia Economic history of Victoria (state) Energy in Victoria (state)