Sponsorships
Spotlight on Yackandandah's virtual power plant
AusNet’s partnership with the Yackandandah community is helping the town drive toward a 100% renewable target. Innovation extends to microgrid trials, a community battery, energy efficiency programs and a general thrust toward electrification.
The community's work to establish a Virtual Power Plant won the Community category in the Victorian Premier's 2020 Sustainability Awards. To read about the award, visit Sustainability Victoria's website. The network of publicly owned buildings across the local area enables residents to generate, store and share electricity.
The township has solar systems installed on more than 60% of buildings and more than 210 of those are ‘connected’ with smart energy management technology, the Mondo Ubi. Using the Mondo technology, the UbiTM Energy Management Platform, customers can manage and optimise their combined energy generation and consumption. Since 2018 this virtual power plant has produced more than 6GWh of clean local power.
Supporting our future leaders
We expanded our Graduate program in 2021, giving 19 graduates the opportunity to begin their professional journey with AusNet.
We’re very passionate about supporting and encouraging young women to pursue a degree in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics) and a career in energy. The scholarships we offer aim to support and prepare women for diverse and rewarding careers in the energy industry.
Women in Power Engineering scholarship program
To make a significant change in the number of women in power engineering, we partnered with Deakin University and sponsored 7 women to complete a degree in power engineering. Each year, successful applicants receive a scholarship, including $10,000 per year plus valuable mentoring, vocation work and ongoing career support. Two recipients of the scholarship are now employed at AusNet. The Women in Power Engineering scholarship was awarded for the final time in 2020 following the introduction of the Women in Power scholarship program.
Women in Power scholarship program
Introduced in 2020, this program extends and builds on the Women in Power Engineering program. The Women in Power program allows for earlier intervention and promotion of STEAM pathways for students, by supporting them from the start of their VCE to the end of their undergraduate degree. Through a partnership with Sacred Heart College Geelong and Deakin University, this new scholarship allows all 3 organisations to work together to support young minds earlier, and in a wider range of disciplines.
The scholarship sponsors female students throughout their year 11 and 12 studies all the way through to graduation with a Bachelors’ degree from Deakin University. Each year, successful applicants receive a scholarship, including $7,000 per year of their enrolment at Sacred Heart College and then $10,000 per year for the duration of their STEAM related undergraduate degree at Deakin University. The students also receive valuable mentoring, vocation work and ongoing career support.
Donations
Spotlight on our people
We helped fundraise over $8,000 for Foodbank Victoria in 2021. This was then matched by our Executive Leadership Team, helping provide 32,200 Victorians with a healthy meal.
Read the story behind the team’s motivation on the Foodbank website.
Targeted donations
We support our communities through donations. Last financial year (2020-21), we provided support to Goulburn Options. They are a not-for-profit community organisation in Northeast Victoria who provide a range of services for adults with a disability and their carers. To read about their work, visit Goulburn Options.
In line with our focus on mental health and wellbeing initiatives during COVID-19, we also donated to Lifeline. This national charity provides Australians experiencing emotional distress with access to 24-hour crisis support.