Essential Energy
Essential Energy is a government-owned electricity infrastructure company in New South Wales, Australia. It owns, maintains and operates most of the state’s electrical distribution networks, covering about 95% of NSW and parts of Queensland. It also runs the Broken Hill water network through Essential Water, formerly Australian Inland Energy and Water.
The company was created on 1 March 2011 from Country Energy after the NSW Government sold Country Energy’s retail division and brand to Origin Energy.
Headquartered in Port Macquarie, Essential Energy employs about 3,280 people (2023). It is overseen by the NSW Minister for Energy and Climate Change (Penny Sharpe). The Chair is Doug Halley and the CEO is John Cleland. It sits under the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Website: essentialenergy.com.au.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 02:14 (CET).