Energy distributor AusNet has announced plans to seek $3.5 billion in funding to upgrade its electricity distribution network over the next five years.
The proposed investment aims to improve the resilience and reliability of the energy grid while keeping network costs manageable for customers.
The draft plans, which require approval from the Australian Energy Regulator through the Electricity Distribution Price Review process every five years, have been shaped by extensive consultations with customer panels, individual customers, and other stakeholders.
AusNet conducted the largest “willingness to pay” survey for its network to gather insights from customers.
A significant portion of the funding would go towards network upgrades to support the growing adoption of electric vehicles and the transition away from gas for home energy needs.
The upgrades would also unlock more renewable energy exports and enable a greater number of customers to benefit from solar photovoltaic systems.
Despite the substantial investment, AusNet has proposed measures to minimise the impact on customer bills.
Residential network charges would remain flat, excluding inflation, while business customers would see a five percent increase by 2031, again excluding inflation.
Additionally, AusNet’s metering charge for households and small businesses would be cut by 50 percent, or $34 per year, and customers who electrify their homes would see further cost savings.
AusNet acknowledged the complexity of developing a five-year plan for the distribution network but believes its proposal strikes the right balance between improving grid resilience, enabling the clean energy transition, and maintaining affordability for customers.
AusNet Executive General Manager Distribution, Andrew Linnie, said the initiatives and investment proposed in the EDPR are an important step to help enable our network to meet future needs.
“This investment will provide the funding to help us meet customer and community needs from a reliability, safety and affordability perspective,” she said.
“We have seen a significant increase in frequency and severity of extreme weather events and it’s important we make the network more resilient to these occurrences. We also want to improve reliability for many of our regional customers.
“At the same time, we know there are many customers grappling with cost-of-living pressures and so it’s important that we balance investing in the network for reliability and resilience, with keeping energy prices as affordable as possible. We would like feedback from our customers on whether we have struck the right balance.”
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