The Melbourne Electric Supply Company was registered in 1899 as the Electric Lighting and Traction Company of Australia led by F. W. Clements and assisted by Herbert Reah Harper. It was registered in England, and the company initially operated in Adelaide and Port Adelaide, South Australia. The company was renamed to the Melbourne Electric Supply Company in 1908. The company operated the Richmond and Geelong power stations. In July 1910, it was granted a 30-year lease to operate the electric tramway system in Geelong. The company was acquired by the State Electricity Commission of Victoria in 1930, before the expiration of the 30-year franchise of the electricity business.
Electric Supply Company of Victoria
The Electric Supply Company of Victoria was a British company with its headquarters in the English city of Liverpool. It was formed in 1903 as a subsidiary of the British Insulated Wire Company. The company operated power stations and electric tramways in the regional cities of Bendigo and Ballarat. The Electric Supply Company of Victoria was acquired by the State Electricity Commission of Victoria in 1934, when its 30-year franchise expired.
The Ballarat Gas Company was set up to supply town gas to the city of Ballarat in 1857. The company was wound up upon the introduction of natural gas to Ballarat in early 1970s.
The Geelong Gas Company was set up to supply town gas to the city of Geelong in 1858. It was purchased by the Gas and Fuel Corporation of Victoria in 1971 when natural gas was introduced to the city.
State Electricity Commission of Victoria
The State Electricity Commission of Victoria was a state owned utility established in 1919 to manage the generation and distribution of electricity in Victoria, as well as to maintain and operate the three provincial electric tramways acquired from the Electric Supply Company of Victoria Ltd. and the Melbourne Electric Supply Company Ltd. The commission was split into three parts in 1993: generation, transmission, and retail. In 1994 these parts were again split and later privatised.
Gas and Fuel Corporation of Victoria
The Gas and Fuel Corporation of Victoria was established in 1950. It took over two of the three main gas utilities in Melbourne - the Metropolitan Gas Company and the Brighton Gas Company, and over time acquired the other local gas authorities and private gas companies. As part of the conversion to natural gas, in 1971 the G&FC acquired the Geelong Gas Company, one of only two remaining private gas companies in Victoria at the time. The Ballarat Gas Company closed at the time. The G&FC was disaggregated in the 1990s, privatised and wound up in June 1995.
