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SA Power Networks

Privately-owned principal electricity distributor in South Australia

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
1 min read
Source updated June 16, 2026
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SA Power Networks is the principal electricity distributor in the state of South Australia, delivering electricity from high voltage transmission network connection points operated by ElectraNet. It is the successor to the Electricity Trust of South Australia.

01Ownership

SA Power Networks arose from the split up of the generation, transmission, distribution and retail responsibilities of the former SA Government-owned Electricity Trust of South Australia and its subsequent privatisation in 1999. The distribution business is owned by the Hong Kong-based Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings (51%), and Spark Infrastructure (49%). SA Power Networks is structured as a partnership of CKI Utilities Development Limited, PAI Utilities Development Limited, each incorporated in the Bahamas; and Spark Infrastructure SA (No. 1) Pty Ltd, Spark Infrastructure SA (No. 2) Pty Ltd, and Spark Infrastructure SA (No. 3) Pty Ltd, each incorporated in Australia.

02Regulated electricity distribution

SA Power Networks operates its electricity distribution business under a licence granted by the Government of South Australia.

The business is subject to regulation by the Australian Energy Regulator and Essential Services Commission of South Australia. Regulation of the business primarily relates to establishing service standards and setting the revenue required to meet those standards cost efficiently.

SA Power Networks is the fifth largest electricity distributor in the Australian National Electricity Market (NEM).

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Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “SA Power Networks”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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Australian Energy Market Operator

The Australian Energy Market Operator is a public utility organisation that manages gas and electricity markets in Australia. It manages the National Electricity Market (NEM), the Wholesale Electricity Market (WA) (WEM) and the Victorian gas transmission network.

Electricity Trust of South Australia

The Electricity Trust of South Australia was the South Australian Government-owned monopoly vertically integrated electricity provider from 1946 until its privatisation in 1999 by Liberal Party Premier John Olsen. The privatisation, which broke Olsen's 1997 election promises not to privatise the Trust, lead to immediate price increases for consumers, the loss of ongoing revenue for the state budget and lead to the cancellation of proposed interstate grid connections in order to protect the value of the newly private assets.

National Electricity Market

The National Electricity Market is an arrangement in Australia's electricity sector for the connection of the electricity transmission grids of the eastern and southern Australian states and territories to create a cross-state wholesale electricity market. The Australian Energy Market Commission develops and maintains the Australian National Electricity Rules (NER), which have the force of law in the states and territories participating in NEM. The Rules are enforced by the Australian Energy Regulator.