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Our company

Our history

From our humble beginnings in 1837 as Australia's first gas company, we take pride in our rich and vibrant journey as we’ve continued to innovate in energy and other essential services we provide today.

Explore the milestones, achievements, and significant moments that have shaped our history.

Black and white photo of the Australian Gas Light Company building front with 'GAS COMPANY'S SHOW ROOM' displayed on windows, a street lamp in front.
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1837

Australia’s first gas company. The Australian Gas Light company is created by ‘An Act for lighting with Gas the Town of Sydney’.

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1841

Big city, bright lights. We lit the first gas lamp in Australia – a street lamp in Sydney. Within two years there are 165 more lamps in operation.

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1850s

Powering the changes. Australians get a taste for late-night shopping for the first time, thanks to AGL gas lighting. We also introduce gas purification, allowing town gas to be used to light Australian homes.

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1871

Going public. We become the second company to list on the then Sydney Stock Exchange.

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1873

First flame. We import the country’s first gas-cooking stove for our Darling Harbour store. It costs us a grand total of £4.

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1890s

Cooking with gas. We built the very first gas cooking showroom in the heart of Sydney. Cooking classes were taught for free and immensely popular.

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1914 to 1918

Lest we forget. 340 AGL people serve in the Great War, where 45 never returned. Many more suffered lasting physical and mental scars.

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1926

Honouring bravery. Governor of New South Wales, Admiral Sir Dudley Rawson Stratford de Chair, K.C.B.,M.V.D. unveils a tablet at the AGL Gasworks Memorial, now known as the Breakfast Point War Memorial, commemorating the courage and sacrifice of AGL people who served in the Great War.

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1955

Technology adds up. We're the first public utility company in Australia to use IBM electric accounting machines.

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1976

Natural progress. We introduce natural gas to Sydney and install the longest pipeline in Australia – all the way to South Australia.

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1979

Flame ballet. Flame Girl dancers from the Sydney Dance Company appear in our iconic ad that ran for 13 years.

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2000

Lighting the Olympic cauldron for Sydney Olympics. We provide expertise to design and build the burner in the Olympic torch that allows Cathy Freeman to light the Olympic cauldron.

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2005

Renewable powerhouse. We buy Southern Hydro – making us the largest privately owned operator of hydro power stations in Australia and the owner of the Wattle Point Wind Farm. It adds over 700 MW of renewable power generation capacity to our portfolio.

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2006
Becoming AGL Energy. We begin trading on the ASX as AGL Energy.
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2007

Powering South Australia. We buy the 1,280 MW gas-fired Torrens Island Power Station, the largest generator in South Australia.

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2009

Hydro giant. We open Bogong Power station – the largest hydroelectric project to be built on mainland Australia in the past 25 years.

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2009

Keep on skipping. We restore the Skipping Girl sign, Australia’s first animated neon sign in Abbotsford, Melbourne. In 2012, on her 75th birthday, we set her up with solar power.

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2010

Eternal tribute. A new memorial commemorating the courage and sacrifice of AGL people who served in World War I and World War II is unveiled by Her Excellency the Governor of NSW, Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, at the Breakfast Point War Memorial.

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2012

AGL in Gippsland. We buy the 2,210 MW Loy Yang A Power Station and the adjacent Loy Yang Coal Mine.

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2013

The Macarthur Wind Farm opens. The Wind Farm represents an investment of around $1 billion. At the time, it was the largest wind farm in the Southern Hemisphere.

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2014

AGL in the Hunter Valley. We buy Macquarie Generation, which includes the 2,640 MW Bayswater Power Station, the 2,000 MW Liddell Power Station and the 50 MW Hunter Valley Gas Turbines.

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2014

Championing inclusivity. We develop an LGBTQ+ inclusion strategy to achieve a more diverse and supportive workplace culture. In 2022, we're awarded Platinum Employer status at the Australian Workplace Equality Index (AWEI) awards.

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2016

World's largest solar virtual power plant battery. We announce the world’s largest retailer-led solar virtual power plant. Based in South Australia, the facility will include 1,000 connected batteries installed in homes and businesses in Adelaide, and provide 5 MW of peaking capacity.

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2017

Going West. We open for business in Western Australia, supplying natural gas to customers.

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2018

Construction begins at Barker Inlet Power Station. AGL begins construction of the 210 MW Barker Inlet Power Station in South Australia.

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2019

AGL expands offering. AGL acquires Perth Energy providing energy solutions for small-to-medium enterprises and large commercial and industrial operations. AGL also acquires Southern Phone as AGL embeds its strategy to be a multi-product retailer.

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2020

A new driving experience. We launch electric vehicle subscriptions - an innovative and flexible way to drive towards a more sustainable future.

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2020

We join The Valuable 500. We're the first Australian Energy company to join The Valuable 500 to accelerate inclusion for the 1 in 5 Australians living with a disability.

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2020/2021

Entering the telco market. We bring essential services together, launching broadband and mobile services.

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2020/2021

We take action towards improving inclusion. We launch our first Reconciliation and Disability Action Plans.

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2021

We become Australia's largest commercial solar provider. We complete the acquisition of Epho and Solgen Energy Group.

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2022

Commitment to Reconciliation. We sign the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

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2022

Inaugural Climate Transition Action Plan published. We target to complete our exit from coal-fired generation by the end of FY35 and accelerate our transition to an integrated low carbon energy leader.

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2022

We extend into biogas. We extended our decarbonisation offerings for business into biogas plants with the acquisition of Energy360.

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2023

Liddell Power Station 1971 - 2023. Liddell Power Station closes after almost 52 years of operation.

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2023

Torrens Island Battery completed. We completed our 250 MW / 250 MWh grid-scale battery at Torrens Island Power Station – the largest battery of its kind in South Australia and second biggest in Australia. 

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2023

Helping customers electrify. AGL launches an Australian-retailer first with the Electrify Now platform to help residential customers on any stage of their electrification journey

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2024

Transforming our business. AGL enters into an agreement with Kaluza to transform our customer operations to be a future ready energy business.

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2024

Renewable energy. We acquire two Australian businesses, Firm Power, a Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) developer and Terrain Solar, a solar project developer.