Lumea Pty Ltd as trustee for the Lumea Trust (Lumea Pty Ltd) (ACN 626 136 865) has applied to the Essential Services Commission for an electricity transmission licence in Victoria. 

We are responsible for deciding whether to grant or refuse a licence application. We invite your feedback between 5 December 2024 and 20 January 2025. The commission will make a decision on the licence application in 2025.

How does Lumea Pty Ltd propose to use this licence?

Lumea Pty Ltd is seeking a licence to transmit electricity in Victoria. Lumea has applied to build and maintain a 1.75km underground transmission line in Plumpton, Victoria. This proposal is in connection to the Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub. 

You can find more information about Lumea Pty Ltd’s transmission project relating to the Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub in its application for an electricity transmission licence. This can be found in the 'Resources' tab.

Our role in energy licensing

A person who wants to engage in the activity of transmitting electricity in Victoria is required to hold a licence granted by the Essential Services Commission.

We are responsible for deciding whether to grant or refuse a licence application. We must have regard to our objectives when deciding whether to grant or refuse a licence application.* This includes promoting the long-term interests of Victorian consumers with respect to the price, quality and reliability of essential services.** 

Please see the document below outlining objectives under the Essential Services Commission Act 2001 and Electricity Industry Act 2000 that we must have regard to.

* In accordance with section 19 of the Electricity Industry Act 2000.

** Under the Essential Services Commission Act 2001 and the Electricity Industry Act 2000. 

How we assess licence applications

We will not grant a transmission licence unless we are satisfied that:

• the applicant has the technical capacity to comply with the conditions of the licence, meaning it has the capacity to operate and manage the business, comply with licence conditions and comply with relevant regulatory obligations.
• the applicant is financially viable (where applicable)
• the applicant is a ‘fit and proper’ person to hold a licence in Victoria.

You can refer to our Guideline: Applications for electricity and gas industry licences for more information. The guideline includes information to assist people to understand our licensing process. 

How to participate

We are seeking feedback from stakeholders on Lumea Pty Ltd’s application that may assist us in deciding to grant or refuse this application. 

You may provide your feedback by:

• providing comments in the survey found on Engage Victoria; or
• providing a submission document/s

Submissions can be sent to us via the below contact details:

• Email: Licences@esc.vic.gov.au
• Mail: Essential Services Commission, Level 8, 570 Bourke Street, Melbourne Victoria 3000

You can also call us on 03 9032 1300 to discuss your options.

If English is not your first language, please contact TIS National on 131 450 to make your submission using an interpreter. 

Submissions close at 5pm on 20 January 2025.

Next steps 

We will review all submissions once the consultation is completed, and your feedback will inform our consideration of the application. 

Lumea Pty Ltd will have the right to respond to all feedback received and we will notify you if this response is made public.

Terrang BESS Asset Co Pty Ltd as trustee for Terrang BESS Asset Trust (ACN 651 342 120) has applied for a licence to generate electricity under section 18 of the Electricity Industry Act 2000 (Vic). 

We may grant or refuse to grant the application for any reason we consider appropriate having regard to our objectives under the Electricity Industry Act 2000 (Vic) and the Essential Services Commission Act 2001 (Vic).  

Consultation on the licence application closed on 16 December 2024. We did not receive any submissions.

Overview

We are responsible for setting and annually reviewing the Victorian Default Offer prices. The default offer is designed to be a simple, trusted and reasonably priced electricity option that safeguards customers who are unwilling or unable to engage in the market. 

We are in the process of setting the Victorian Default Offer prices to apply from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. 

The Essential Services Commission is reviewing the prices for the 2025-26 Victorian Default Offer for electricity. We want to hear your views on how we set these prices.

Next steps 

We will summarise any feedback on our request for comment paper in our draft decision paper and use the feedback to inform our draft and final decisions. 

We plan to release a draft decision in early March 2025 followed by an online public forum. More details on the public forum including how to register will be provided closer to the event. 

On 17 October 2024 Latrobe Valley BESS Pty Ltd (ACN 648 205 127) as trustee for Latrobe Valley BESS Project Trust applied for a licence to generate electricity under section 18 of the Electricity Industry Act 2000 (Vic). 

Consultation on the licence application closed on 14 November 2024. We did not receive any submissions.

We granted the licence on 12 December 2024.
 

AusNet Infrastructure No.1 Pty Ltd (ACN 666 381 737) as trustee for AusNet Infrastructure Trust (ABN 40 393 557 464) applied for a licence to transmit electricity under section 18 of Electricity Industry Act 2000 (Vic).

Consultation on the licence application closed on 7 November 2024. You can read the submissions we received in the Resources tab above.

We granted the licence on 11 December 2024.