TransGrid began as the trading name of the Electricity Transmission Authority which was established on 1 February 1995 as a statutory authority under the Electricity Transmission Authority Act 1994, as part of the break-up of the Electricity Commission of New South Wales. The Authority was corporatised in December 1998, by the Energy Services Corporations Amendment Act 1998, and TransGrid became the actual name of the corporation. In December 2015, a consortium called NSW Electricity Networks was the successful bidder for a 99-year lease of TransGrid's transmission network for $10.3 billion. The consortium consists of two Australian entities–Spark Infrastructure, the Morrison & Co Utilities Trust of Australia fund – together with the Canadian pension fundCaisse de depot et placement du Quebec and two Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds–the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and the Kuwait Investment Authority. State Grid Corporation of China was one of the other bidders, in a consortium with Macquarie Infrastructure Real Assets. State Grid's bid was cleared by the Foreign Investment Review Board but was eventually unsuccessful, possibly because of its government and military connections. In 2018, TransGrid was among 17 energy businesses that supported the launch of the Energy Charter, a global initiative aimed at bringing together all parts of the power supply chain to give customers more affordable and reliable energy. In October 2018, TransGrid signed a five-year managed services deal with HCL Technologies for IT services delivery and providing outsourcing support, with the outsourcing teams to be based in Australia. As part of this commitment, HCL Technologies will also create a TransGrid Academy for cultural alignment and incubation of talent pools. In February 2019 the company announced that Jason Conroy would be its new Chief Financial Officer commencing on 4 March 2019.
Network
TransGrid operates the major high voltage electricity transmission network in NSW and the ACT, and is part of the National Electricity Market. The network connects generators, distributors and major end users. TransGrid's network comprises 104 bulk supply substations and more than 13,133 kilometres of high voltage transmission lines and cables. The network operates primarily at voltage levels of 500 kV, 330 kV, 220 kV and 132 kV. TransGrid's network also connects to 20 direct connect customers, including the four distribution businesses: Endeavour Energy, Ausgrid, ActewAGL, and Essential Energy. TransGrid participates in the Australian Energy Regulator's revenue proposal process, where submissions of the transmission network service providers, the AER and other interested parties are used to set the maximum allowable revenue for the TNSPs for a five-year period.
TransGrid Telecommunications
With more than 15 years’ experience TransGrid Telecommunications manages an extensive fibre optic network covering in excess of 4000 km across NSW, the ACT and Victoria. TransGrid's Telecommunications network is one of the largest optical fibre network in Australia, with the majority of the network's Optical Ground Wire strung above the electricity transmission network.
Key Executives
Paul Italiano – Chief Executive Officer Tony Meehan – Executive Manager Policy & Corporate Affairs Michael Gatt - Executive Manager Works Delivery Gerard Reiter – Executive Manager Network Planning & Operations Chris Pemberton – Executive Manager Corporate Services Richard Lowe - Executive Manager Business Growth Peter Horton - Executive Manager Legal Governance & Risk Eva Hanly – Executive Manager of Strategy, Innovation & Technology Jason Conroy – Chief Financial Officer
