- Electricity Commission of New South Wales
-
The Electricity Commission of New South Wales, sometimes called Elcom, was a statutory body responsible for the generation of electricity and its bulk transmission throughout New South Wales, Australia. The Commission was established on 22 May 1950 by the Electricity Commission Act 1950 and its role was to take over power generation responsibility from the County Councils (such as the Sydney County Council) and the railways, who until that time were responsible for power generation and distribution. It acquired the power stations and main transmission lines of the four major supply authorities (Southern Electricity Supply, Sydney County Council, the Department of Railways and the Electric Light and Power Supply Corporation Ltd, known as the Balmain Company).[1] The commission was responsible for the centralised co-ordination of the state's electricity generation and supply.
Upgrading and Expansion of power station network
Between 1950 and 1960, the commission more than tripled power capacity, from 490 megawatts to 1800. At first, this involved completing the expansions of Bunnerong, White Bay, Balmain, and Pyrmont, and completing new stations already designed by the Department of Railways: Tallawarra near Port Kembla (1954), Wangi, at Lake Macquarie (1956), and Wallerawang, near Lithgow (1957).[2]
The Electricity Commission adopted the trading name Pacific Power in 1992.
In the early 1990s, Australian state governments began to deregulate state owned monopoly electricity commissions in order to promote competition, customer choice and potentially cheaper electricity.[3] In 1995, the transmission assets were split off into a new government organisation called TransGrid, and new distributors and retailers set up. In 1996, two new entities were split off - Delta Electricity and Macquarie Generation. In 2000, the remaining power stations were transferred to a new entity, Eraring Energy, and the consulting business sold to Connell Wagner. The privatisation of the State's electricity assets proposed in 1997 [4] began a long running controversy which extended well into the twenty-first century. On 15 December 2010, Origin Energy announced that it would purchase the retail divisions of Country Energy and Integral Energy from the Government of New South Wales, as well as entering a GenTrader agreement with Eraring Energy (in which Origin supplies fuel, pays certain charges, and can dispatch and sell electricity output, while Eraring Energy owns, operates and maintains the power stations).[5] Eight of the eleven electricity board directors quit in disgust just hours before the power sale was finalised by NSW Treasurer Eric Roozendaal in December 2010. The then Premier dissolved parliament immediately to stifle parliamentary debate on the sale and make it difficult for testimony before any subsequent inquiry to be covered by parliamentary privilege[6]
References
- ^ "Electricity Commission of New South Wales". NSW Department of Records. Archived from the original on 30 August 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070830045134/http://www.records.nsw.gov.au/cguide/c4g/elcom.htm. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
- ^ "Conde, Harold Graydon". Austrlain Dictionary of Biography. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A130526b.htm. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
- ^ "Electricity Deregulation Outside the New South Wales and Victorian Markets". Roarty, M. http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/2002-03/03rn40.pdf. Retrieved 28 September 2007.
- ^ Treasury Briefing Paper, 17/1997 [1]
- ^ "Country Energy sold to Origin". The Young Witness. 17 December 2010. http://www.youngwitness.com.au/news/local/news/general/country-energy-sold-to-origin/2028447.aspx?storypage=1. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
- ^ Sydney Morning Herald, 15 December 2010 http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/nsw-electricity-sale-a-mad-dash-for-cash-20101215-18x8t.html (accessed 28 March 2011)
Energy production in New South Wales Biomass combustion Broadwater Sugar Mill • Broadwater Biomass Co-Gen • Condong Sugar Mill • Condong Biomass Co-Gen • Harwood Sugar Mill • Visy Paper, TumutCogeneration Amcor, Bomaderry • BlueScope Steel, Port Kembla • Caltex Refining, Kurnell • Macquarie University • Shell Refining, Clyde • Stadium Australia • University of Western Sydney • Visy Paper, SmithfieldCoal fired power stations Bayswater • Eraring • Liddell • Mount Piper • Munmorah • Redbank • Vales Point • WallerawangGas fired power stations Appin Mine • Belrose • Colongra • Earthpower Camelia • Jacks Gully • Liddell • Lucas Heights I • Lucas Heights II • Shoalhaven Landfill Gas Project • Smithfield Energy Facility • Sydney Water, Malabar • Tahmoor • Tallawarra • Teralba • Tower Mine • Uranquinty • WilgaHydroelectric power stations Wind Farms Blayney • Crookwell • HamptonDistribution network operators Ausgrid • Endeavour Energy • Essential EnergyTransmission network operators Government-owned generating companies Delta Electricity • Eraring Energy • Macquarie Generation • Snowy HydroRetail companies and brands Historical Advance Energy • Australian Inland • Electricity Commission of New South Wales • Great Southern Energy • Illawarra Electricity • Macquarie County Council (Western Power) • New England County Council (New England Electricity) • North West County Council (North West Electricity) • Northern Riverina County Council (Northern Riverina Electricity) • Northern Rivers County Council (Northern Rivers Electricity) • NorthPower • Ophir County Council (Ophir Electricity) • Orion Energy • Oxley County Council (Oxley Electricity) • Pacific Power • Peel-Cunningham County Council (PCCC Electricity) • Prospect Electricity • Shortland County Council (Shortland Electricity) • Southern Mitchell County Council (Southern Mitchell Electricity) • Southern Riverina County Council (Southern Riverina Electricity) • Southern Tablelands County Council (Southern Tablelands Electricity) • Sydney County Council (Sydney Electricity) • Ulan County Council (Ulan Electricity)Categories:- Defunct utility companies of Australia
- Defunct government entities of Australia
- Energy in Australia
- Electric power in Australia
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.