Commission grants Transmission Company Victoria an electricity transmission licence

Following an extensive consultation process and careful consideration, the Essential Services Commission approved Transmission Company Victoria Pty Ltd’s (TCV) (ACN 665 119 068) electricity transmission licence on 13 February 2025.

The nine-week consultation process, that included a combination of public webinars and an in-person public information session in Stawell, resulted in over 100 submissions.

We appreciate the time and effort people took to make a submission on TCV’s licence application and the concerns raised through the process. All submissions were carefully considered and helped inform our decision.

Submissions were informative and addressed a wide range of important topics that we carefully considered within our assessment criteria. We agreed that some of the issues raised needed to be addressed, which we have done by placing several conditions on the licence, including:

• stronger visibility of the use of land access powers,
• advance notification for any future sale or change of ownership of TCV,
• requirements for TCV to have its technical capacity assessed prior to transmitting electricity.

As a licensee, TCV must comply with all the legal requirements of the licence. Any breaches will be subject to the commissions’ compliance and enforcement powers, including breaches of the Land Access Code of Practice (LACoP).

The LACoP introduced enforceable rules that TCV must comply with, including how and when it provides information to landowners and when it engages with them. The LACoP also requires transmission companies to be open, honest and respectful in their communication with landowners.