Strathbogie Shire Council urges reconsideration of AER draft determination

Strathbogie Shire Council is calling on the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) to urgently reconsider its draft determination excluding two critical infrastructure projects from AusNet’s 2026-31 regulatory proposal. 

These are the proposed express feeder BN11 from Benalla to Euroa, and upgrade works on SM11 from Seymour to Nagambie.

Strathbogie Mayor Cr Scott Jeffery said these projects were essential to improve power reliability across the region and support future residential and industrial growth in Euroa and Nagambie.

“Our residents and businesses continue to suffer from sustained and unacceptable power outages. These upgrades are essential to ensure reliability and unlock the growth potential of our towns,” he said. 

“We are advocating strongly to federal and state ministers, and directly to the AER, to ensure these projects are reconsidered in the final determination, which is due in the new year.” 

Cr Jeffery said the Council had the support of Helen Haines MP, Independent Federal Member for Indi; and Annabelle Cleeland MP, Nationals State Member for Euroa.   

Every five years, electricity distributors must seek approval from the AER for their planned capital infrastructure works for the following five-year term. If approval is not received from the regulator, those works cannot go ahead in that period. 

Recognising the importance of these essential upgrades, AusNet included BN11 and SM11 in its most recent submission, but the AER rejected the plans in a draft determination. The rationale provided by the AER was that demand-driven augmentation did not meet the required threshold and that the benefit-cost ratio, based on the value of customer reliability, did not stack up against other projects. 

“This is inconsistent with the lived experience of our community and the strategic importance of these upgrades,” Cr Jeffery said. “We’re going to continue to advocate for the inclusion of BN11 and SM11 in the final AER determination.”   

Cr Jeffery said the Council had been working with AusNet to ensure these essential projects were prioritised.   

AusNet has indicated it would resubmit these projects as part of its revised proposal to the AER in early December.