Australian Electricity Foundation - Dawson Street, Brunswick, C.1939
The sad death of the Australian Energy Foundation.
When the Australian Energy Foundation closed its doors on August 31st it brought to an end an important part of Brunswick's history. Brunswick was one of a number Victorian councils which operated their own electricity supply business. This began in 1912 when electricity was first introduced. The Electricity Supply Department was a useful source of revenue for the council and facilitated the provision of services tailored to the community. From the 1970s, under the leadership of Bernie Barnes and later Mike Hill, Council worked through the ESD to assist residents to conserve energy. Residents could get free advice to make their houses more efficient and the display house at CERES was set up to demonstrate what could be done. After municipal amalgamations in 1994 councils were forced to sell their electricity supply departments to the SEC and distribution was later privatised.
The then Moreland (now Merri-bek) Council used part of the proceeds from the sale of the Brunswick and Coburg electricity supply departments to set up the Moreland Energy Foundation to continue this work. It later expanded to become the Australian Energy Foundation and has now become the victim of market forces.