Energex is an Australian-based and wholly

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a Parliament, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, ...

-owned electricity company that distributes power to 1.5 million homes and businesses across the region of

South East Queensland South East Queensland (SEQ) is a Bioregion, bio-geographical, Megalopolis, metropolitan and Statistics, statistical Regions of Queensland, region of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland in Australia, with a population of ...

. The boundaries of the company’s distribution area stretch from Coolangatta in the south to

Gympie Gympie ( ) is a city and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. Located in the Greater Sunshine Coast, Gympie is about north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies on the Mary River ( ...

in the north and as far west as the foothills of the

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...

range. Energex’s network includes more than 55,000 km of underground and overhead electricity infrastructure servicing city and rural areas in a

sub-tropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones immediately to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 3 ...

climate. As part of the Queensland Government's announcement of the merger of Energex and Ergon Energy, a parent entity called Energy Queensland was formed, and commenced operations on 30 June 2016. The head office of Energy Queensland is based in

Townsville The City of Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 201,313 as of 2024, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland and Northern Australia (specifically, the parts of Australia north of ...

History

The earliest permanent electricity supplies in Brisbane were provided by Barton, White & Company, from 1887; this became known as Brisbane Electric Supply Company in 1904, and in 1922 was renamed the City Electric Light Company (CEL). For more than three decades, CEL competed with other electricity suppliers in South East Queensland, especially the

Brisbane City Council Brisbane City Council (BCC, also known as Council) is the local government of the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. The largest local government in Australia by population, BCC's jurisdiction includes 2 ...

(BCC) Electricity Supply Department. In 1961, the Queensland government

nationalised Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with ...

CEL and merged it with both the BCC Electricity Supply and Toowoomba Electric Light & Power Company. The merged entity was known initially as Southern Electric Authority of Queensland (SEAQ). The organisation, which was the sole provider of electricity in SEQ, was known between 1977 and 1997 as the South East Queensland Electricity Board (SEQEB). Following the formation of 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 ele ...

(NEM), SEQEB was corporatised in 1997, and renamed Energex then established itself as a multi-utility provider, supplying electricity and LPG and

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

. In 2006, Energex sold its gas distribution network (Allgas) in southeast Queensland to Australian Pipeline Trust for $521 million. The electricity distribution network remains in public ownership. In 2014, a whistleblower made allegations against Energex that prompted a federal parliamentary inquiry into whether data had been manipulated to artificially inflate power prices.

Retail operations sale

Sun Retail, the retail arm of Energex, was sold at auction to Origin Energy Ltd for A$1.2 billion. The sale was formally effected in early 2007. Origin Energy purchased a customer base of approximately 800,000 from the New South Wales border to a line just north of the

Brisbane River The Brisbane River (Turrbal language, Turrbal: ) is the longest river in South East Queensland, Australia. It flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay on the Coral Sea. John Oxley, the first European to explore the ...

(mostly following

Kedron Brook The Kedron Brook is a creek that flows through the northern suburbs of Brisbane in the South East Queensland, south-east region of Queensland, Australia. Course and features Kedron Brook arises from the confluence of Kedron Creek and Cedar Cree ...

), whilst AGL Energy purchased a customer base of the remaining approximately 400,000 customers north from this line to Gympie and the Sunshine Coast. Full retail contestability since 1 July 2007 allows electricity customers to choose their electricity retailer. About 19 new retailers (including Origin and AGL) have entered into the Queensland market.

Queensland Government Merger Electricity Distribution Businesses

When Labor won the Queensland State election in late 2015, the Government announced that rather than a sale of the State owned electricity assets, the two State distributors, Energex and Ergon Energy would merge into a single entity - to be known as Energy Queensland. This merger was completed on 30 June 2016, however the separate branding of the two distribution companies continue. The corporate head office was located in Townsville, Qld as part of a jobs drive for the North Qld regions.

Energex Service

Energex provides a 24-hour emergency phone service, to report life-threatening emergencies and fallen powerlines on 13 19 62. A loss of supply enquiry line also operates 24 hours a day on 13 62 62. General enquiries can be made via their Contact Centre on 13 12 53 between 7am - 5.30pm Monday-Friday. They also have a Facebook and Twitter feed which is regularly updated, particularly during storm events and other large scale disaster incidents and also community events.

References

External links