Electricity Trust of South Australia

The Electricity Trust of South Australia (ETSA) was the South Australian Government-owned monopoly vertically integrated electricity provider. Its controversial privatisation in 1999 was one of the most important political events in recent South Australian history.

The Electricity Trust of South Australia (ETSA) was created by South Australian Liberal and Country League (LCL) premier Tom Playford through the nationalisation of the Adelaide Electric Supply Company (AESC) in 1946. The Adelaide Electricity Supply Company was established in 1897. It was a private company (with headquarters in London), which held a monopoly over electricity supplies in Adelaide at the time. It was the company's refusal to use brown coal as advocated by Playford, even going to the extent of buying only boilers that used only black coal, that triggered the request from Playford for commonwealth funds to nationalise the company: Labor Prime Minister Ben Chifley readily agreed. The LCL suffered a split in its ranks with regard to nationalisation, and the state legislation passed only with the support of ALP and independent members of parliament.

ETSA participated in the post-war growth and industrialisation of the South Australian economy, including providing modern and reliable power for regional areas.

As a vertically integrated generator, distributor and retailer of electricity, ETSA was responsible for the development of new energy sources (brown coal mined at Leigh Creek), major power stations near Port Augusta (Playford B and Northern) and on Torrens Island. ETSA expanded the electricity distribution network to areas where there was previously no supply, or only low voltage (32 volt) supply generated locally. By the end of the Playford era, South Australia had one of the cheapest and most efficient electricity networks in the world. The same low price for electricity was charged in Mount Gambier as it was at the point of production at Torrens Island.

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