Transend Networks

Transend Networks was a Tasmanian Government-owned enterprise responsible for electricity transmission in Tasmania, Australia, from 1998 to 2014. It was created on 1 July 1998 under the Electricity Companies Act 1997 during the restructuring and breakup of Tasmania's Hydro Electric Commission. The restructuring separated parts of the electricity industry into distinct businesses, with Transend taking responsibility for the high-voltage transmission network rather than electricity distribution or retail activities. The company's core role was to transmit electricity from generating stations to customers and to connect the different parts of the Tasmanian electricity system. Its customers included electricity generators, electricity retailers and major industrial users. As a transmission network provider, Transend operated infrastructure rather than selling electricity as a conventional retail brand. Its activities were therefore closely tied to the reliability, capacity and regulation of the electricity system in Tasmania. Transend also participated in Australia's National Electricity Market, an interconnected electricity market covering Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. Tasmania's participation depended on Basslink, the subsea interconnector linking the Tasmanian electricity system with mainland Australia. Through this connection, Transend's network was linked to the wider national power system, allowing electricity to move between Tasmania and the mainland subject to the capabilities and operating conditions of the interconnector. The business operated as a regulated monopoly. Its allowable revenue was subject to a revenue cap determined through the Australian electricity regulatory framework, including the Australian Energy Regulator. This regulatory model reflected the economics of electricity transmission, where duplicating parallel high-voltage networks is generally impractical and the network provider is therefore regulated in place of direct infrastructure competition. In addition to electricity transmission, Transend owned and operated a telecommunications business. That business served customers in the electricity supply industry and customers in other industries, extending the company's activities beyond physical power infrastructure into communications services associated with utility operations. Transend Networks ceased to exist as a separate enterprise on 1 July 2014. It was merged with the distribution division of Aurora Energy to create TasNetworks. The merger brought Tasmania's electricity transmission and distribution functions together within a successor organisation. Transend is therefore a historical infrastructure brand rather than an active electricity company, but its former transmission responsibilities became part of the operating foundation of TasNetworks.

Transend Networks emerged from the restructuring of Tasmania's electricity industry in the late 1990s. The Electricity Companies Act 1997 provided the legislative basis for breaking up the former Hydro Electric Commission into separate electricity businesses. As part of that process, Transend Networks was established on 1 July 1998 as the transmission network enterprise owned by the Government of Tasmania. Its principal responsibility was the operation of Tasmania's electricity transmission network. The business transmitted electricity from power stations through the high-voltage network to electricity retailers, major industrial customers and other users of the system. Its role differed from that of a generator, retailer or distribution company: Transend provided the network infrastructure and associated transmission function through which electricity moved across the state. Transend was also connected to the national electricity system. Tasmania participates in Australia's National Electricity Market, an interconnected power system extending from Queensland through the eastern and southern mainland states. The Basslink interconnector links Tasmania with mainland Australia, allowing the Tasmanian network to participate in electricity transfers across the broader market. Transend's network consequently had both a state-based operating role and a connection to the national market framework. The company operated as a regulated monopoly. Rather than competing with duplicate transmission networks, it received a regulated revenue cap through the Australian regulatory system, with the Australian Energy Regulator forming part of the framework governing its allowable network revenue. This arrangement placed emphasis on regulated network performance and investment rather than on conventional consumer-brand competition. Alongside electricity transmission, Transend owned and operated a telecommunications business. The communications operation served organisations in the electricity supply industry and customers in other industries. This gave the enterprise a secondary business area related to communications infrastructure and services, while its defining activity remained electricity transmission. Transend Networks ended its independent existence on 1 July 2014. On that date it was merged with the distribution division of Aurora Energy to form TasNetworks. The transaction consolidated Tasmania's electricity transmission and distribution activities within a new successor enterprise. Transend therefore represents the transmission-focused phase of Tasmania's post-Hydro Electric Commission electricity structure between 1998 and 2014.

• 2014

  Merger creates TasNetworks

  [1]Transend Networksen.wikipedia.org

  On 1 July 2014, Transend Networks was merged with Aurora Energy's distribution division to form TasNetworks, ending Transend's existence as a separate enterprise.

• 1998

  Transend Networks begins operations

  [1]Transend Networksen.wikipedia.org

  Transend Networks was formed on 1 July 1998 as the Tasmanian Government-owned electricity transmission network provider following the restructuring of the state's electricity sector.

• 1998

  Transmission and telecommunications operations

  [1]Transend Networksen.wikipedia.org

  During its operating life, Transend transmitted electricity from Tasmanian power stations to generators, retailers and major industrial customers and also operated a telecommunications business serving utility and other industry customers.

• 1997

  Electricity Companies Act establishes restructuring framework

  [1]Transend Networksen.wikipedia.org

  The Electricity Companies Act 1997 provided the legislative basis for breaking up Tasmania's Hydro Electric Commission and creating separate electricity businesses, including the later transmission enterprise Transend Networks.

A government-owned, regulated electricity transmission network provider serving Tasmania and participating in Australia's interconnected National Electricity Market, with an additional telecommunications business.

• Electricity transmission · 1998

  Tasmanian electricity transmission network

  Transend's principal operating asset and service was Tasmania's electricity transmission network. The company moved electricity from generating stations through the high-voltage grid and provided transmission-network access to electricity generators, retailers and major industrial customers. The network also formed Tasmania's link to the wider National Electricity Market through the Basslink connection to mainland Australia.

• Telecommunications

  Electricity-supply telecommunications

  Transend owned and operated a telecommunications business serving customers in the electricity supply industry as well as customers in other industries. The available reference material identifies this as a distinct business activity but does not specify individual products, technologies or service names.

• 2014

  Merger with Aurora Energy distribution divisionM&A

  Background

  The Tasmanian Government had separate electricity transmission and distribution functions operated through Transend Networks and Aurora Energy's distribution division.

  Action taken

  On 1 July 2014, Transend Networks was merged with Aurora Energy's distribution division to create TasNetworks.

  Aftermath

  Transend Networks ceased as a separate enterprise, while its transmission responsibilities became part of TasNetworks.

  Source

• 1998

  Establishment as a dedicated transmission enterpriseStrategy

  Background

  Tasmania's electricity sector was reorganised under the Electricity Companies Act 1997 through the breakup of the Hydro Electric Commission. The new structure separated transmission from other electricity functions.

  Action taken

  The Tasmanian Government formed Transend Networks on 1 July 1998 to own and operate the state's electricity transmission network.

  Aftermath

  Transend operated as the state's transmission network provider until it was later consolidated with Aurora Energy's distribution business in TasNetworks.

  Source

1. 1Transend Networksen.wikipedia.org