United Energy has submitted a $1.4 billion plan to the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) to build a stronger, smarter power network for Melbourne’s east, south-east and the Mornington Peninsula.
Under the plan, United Energy proposes to build a new major powerline and zone substation to support growth and improve resilience on the Mornington Peninsula as well as incorporate smarter technologies to support customers transition to cleaner energy. It will add on average just $3 a year to distribution changes, with no changes to metering charges.
The utility’s 2026–31 regulatory proposal is now under review by the Australian Energy Regulator.
Over the next five years, an additional 100,000 people will be living in the United Energy network, energy consumption is expected to rise by 25 per cent, renewable generation is expected to double and 26 per cent of customers will have an electric vehicle. Meanwhile, communities are already experiencing more frequent and extreme weather that is damaging electricity infrastructure.
United Energy General Manager Regulation, Renate Vogt, said the proposed investment package was designed to meet these challenges, ensuring the network continued delivering reliable and safe power for more than 715,600 customers.
“We have spoken with thousands of customers to better understand how they want us to invest in our network, and ensure our plan reflects their expectations,” Ms Vogt said.
“Under our plan, we will build a stronger network to better withstand extreme weather, integrate smarter technology to support more electric vehicles, and ensure our network is supporting rising demand for power in the Mornington Peninsula and surrounding areas.
“Our plan is designed to support greater electrification and the state’s population growth, all while keeping costs as low as possible.”
Proposed investments include:
- $38 million to manage growing demand on the Mornington Peninsula and includes a major new powerline connecting Hastings to Rosebud
- $66 million to support electrification for customers to get the most value from their investments in rooftop solar, electric vehicle charging and home batteries
- $28 million for resilience measures to help the network and local communities manage extreme weather events and includes a new substation at Shoreham, more on-the-ground support by introducing community support officers and expanding United Energy’s emergency response vehicle fleet
- $480 million to maintain assets to continue to provide a safe and reliable supply of electricity
“With cost-of-living pressures rising, we needed to make sure our plans were affordable while delivering the safe and reliable power our customers expect and depend on,” Ms Vogt said.
“We already operate one of the most efficient and low-cost networks in Australia and this plan continues to find smarter ways to use our existing infrastructure to deliver better value for customers.”
United Energy conducted its largest ever customer and industry engagement program to help develop its plans for the 2026–2031 period, engaging more than 8700 customers during the past four years.
For more information and to see the plans, visit https://engage.unitedenergy.com.au/
