AusNet Services (previously SP AusNet) is an Australian energy delivery services business, owning and operating more than $11 billion of electricity and gas network assets. It is a privately held, and was formerly listed on the

Australian Securities 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 ...

(ASX) and the

Singapore Exchange The Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX) is a Singaporean investment holding company that provides different services related to securities and derivatives trading and others. SGX is also a member of the World Federation of Exchanges and the Asian ...

(SGX). AusNet is currently owned by Australian Energy Holdings No 4 Pty Limited, a company controlled by

Brookfield Asset Management Brookfield Asset Management Inc. is a Canadian multinational company that is one of the world's largest alternative investment management companies, with over US$725 billion of assets under management in 2022. It focuses on direct contro ...

. The co-investors include pension funds in Australia and Canada.

History

In 2004 Singapore Power paid $US3.7 billion for TXU's entire Australian energy portfolio, and in 2005 resold power generation and retailing assets in the TXU portfolio to Hong Kong-based

CLP Group CLP Group () and its holding company, CLP Holdings Ltd (), also known as China Light and Power Company, Limited (now CLP Power Hong Kong Ltd., ), is an electricity company in Hong Kong. Incorporated in 1901 as China Light & Power Company Syndi ...

for about $2.2 billion. Later in 2005, it publicly floated the business as SP AusNet, and selling 49% of the remaining assets for about $1 billion to the public, while retaining a 51% stake. In 2007 it joined with

Babcock & Brown Babcock & Brown LP was a global investment and advisory firm, established in 1977, based in Sydney, Australia, that went into liquidation in 2009. Babcock & Brown Securities LLC was an active investment banking firm focused on equipment and pro ...

for the $7.4 billion

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 ...

acquisition, and during the

global financial crisis Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...

that year, it tried but failed to sell the Alinta assets into SP AusNet. In May 2013, Singapore Power sold 19.9% of its 51% stake in the company to

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 ...

for A$824 million, valuing the company at A$4.1 billion. SP AusNet changed its name to AusNet Services in August 2014, following the end of a management services agreement between Singapore Power and SP AusNet in March. In February 2022, AusNet Services was taken private after a successful 2021 bid from Brookfield Asset Management with a number of Australian & Canadian pension funds as co-investors.

Operations

AusNet Services operates three energy networks in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

: * high voltage and extra high voltage electric transmission network in Victoria (66kV and above) * low voltage and medium voltage electric distribution network in Victoria (22kV and below) (one of five electricity distributors in Victoria, covering eastern Victoria and eastern/northeastern suburbs of Melbourne) * gas distribution network in Victoria (one of three gas distributors in Victoria). AusNet Services is the manager and operator of the high voltage electricity transmission network in Victoria, and is the sole transmission network service provider (TNSP) in Victoria in the

National Electricity Market The National Electricity Market (NEM) is an arrangement in Australia's electricity sector for the connection of the electricity transmission grids of the eastern and southern Australia states and territories to create a cross-state wholesale el ...

(NEM). It is a party in the

Australian Energy Regulator The Australian Energy Regulator (AER) is the regulator of the wholesale electricity and gas markets in Australia. It is part of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission and enforces the rules established by the Australian Energy Market C ...

's (AER) revenue proposal process, where submissions of TNSPs, the AER and other interested parties are used to set the maximum allowable revenue (MAR) for TNSPs for a five-year period. Its commercial business Mondo provides a range of services and solutions to enable community energy hubs and solar mini grids.

Legal issues

The

2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission The 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission is a Victorian Royal Commission that concluded on 31 July 2010 that investigated the circumstances surrounding the Black Saturday bushfires on Saturday 7February 2009 which caused 173 fatalities. ...

found that the

Kilmore East Kilmore East is a locality in the Australian state of Victoria, 65 kilometres north of Melbourne. At the , Kilmore East had a population of 417. Kilmore East was occupied for European use by John Green, a neighboring pastoralist on the Kilmor ...

part of the February 2009

Black Saturday bushfires The Black Saturday bushfires were a series of bushfires that either ignited or were already burning across the Australian state of Victoria on and around Saturday, 7 February 2009, and were among Australia's all-time worst bushfire disasters. T ...

in Victoria "started after the conductor between poles 38 and 39 failed and the live conductor came into contact with a cable stay supporting pole 38. This contact caused arcing that ignited vegetation near the base of pole 38." Following a

class action A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class actio ...

lawsuit related to that fire, in July 2014 the company announced a legal settlement. Utility Service Providers will pay another $10 million, and the

Victoria State Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive, the judicial, and t ...

a further $29 million. In December 2014 a AU$378.6 million sum was approved by the

Supreme Court of Victoria The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the Australian state of Victoria. Founded in 1852, it is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited and inherent jurisdiction within the state. The Supreme Court compri ...

as AusNets part of a $494 million settlement of a second class action. Utility Services Corporation Ltd will also pay $12.5 million, and the Victorian Government $103.6 million. It has been noted as being "the biggest class action settlement in Australian legal history". The previous highest payout was $200 Million in ''Kirby v Centro Properties Limited (No 6)

012 012 may refer to: * Tyrrell 012, a Formula One racing car * The dialing code for Pretoria, South Africa See also * 12 (disambiguation) Twelve or 12 may refer to: * 12 (number) * December, the twelfth and final month of the year Years * 12 BC ...

FCA 650 (19 June 2012)''.

References

External links

*
AusNet Services Network Map
{{S&P/ASX 200 Companies based in Melbourne Companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange Electric power transmission system operators in Australia Energy in Victoria (Australia)