Evoenergy — owned equally by Icon Water and Jemena Ltd via subsidiary companies. It operates an electricity distribution network and a gas distribution network in the ACT. The electricity supplies are provided by NSW Electricity Networks over transmission lines owned by TransGrid. Natural gas supplies come via the Eastern Gas Pipeline, owned by Jemena, from the Gippsland Basin, Victoria. On 1 January 2018, ActewAGL Distribution changed its name to Evoenergy.
History
Actew was already set up in 1988. It stood for Australian Capital Territory Electricity and Water, and still does. When gas was piped to Canberra households in the late 1980s or early 1990s, the utility of gas was added to Actew, with AGL added to the end of the name - ActewAGL. ActewAGL was formed in October 2000 as a joint venture between the Australian Gas Light Company and ACTEW Corporation, a government-owned enterprise of the ACT Government. In 2000, ActewAGL entered into a contract with ACTEW Corporation for the management and operation of the water and sewerage network of the ACT and surrounding area. In February 2004, ActewAGL entered into a management agreement with TransACT Capital Communications Pty Ltd. In October 2006 ActewAGL's business was reorganised, creating separate retail and distribution entities. AGL and ACTEW Corporation continued as the partners for the retail business and Alinta and ACTEW Corporation became partners of the distribution business. In August 2007, a consortium including Singapore Power purchased Alinta. Alinta changed its name in August 2008 to Jemena. In June 2012, ACTEW Corporation did not renew ActewAGL's water and sewerage management contract.
Green initiatives
Since its beginning, ActewAGL has continued to undertake several innovative programs to help the environment. They include the following.
Greenchoice – This is a program that lets residential and business customers support environmentally friendly green energy by paying a premium on their electricity bill. The additional payment is invested in renewable energy generation from sources like mini hydro, wind power and biomass. The Greenchoice program is independently assessed by the Australian government's National Green Power Accreditation Program to guarantee that the green energy produced by ActewAGL comes from government-approved renewable energy sources. However Greenchoice customers are still charged for carbon tax on their Greenchoice energy, which even the CEO of ActewAGL admits is counterintuitive. This negates any financial benefit Greenchoice customers might otherwise have received by supporting carbon-neutral energy.
ActewAGL hydro – While most hydro-electric developments require the building of dams and lakes, ActewAGL's mini-hydro uses an existing water supply to provide electricity that would otherwise come from fossil-fuel power stations.
Solar farm – In early 2008 ActewAGL worked with the ACT Government to study the feasibility of developing a solar farm in the ACT. The study investigated the environmental impact, economic viability, and educational benefits of such a facility. In May 2009 the ACT Government called for expressions of interest to construct, own and operate a solar power facility in the ACT. The government specified the facility must be capable of delivering power to at least 10,000 Canberra homes. ActewAGL responded to this request and in December 2009 were advised that they had been shortlisted to move through to the next stage of the selection process.
