As of June 2025, AusNet has invested $40 million over 12 months to upgrade and maintain its gas infrastructure across Victoria.
Renewal works have now been completed in the Geelong, Stawell, Warrnambool and Ararat regions, as part of AusNet’s ongoing program of gas network upgrades.
AusNet Executive General Manager Gas and Metering, Fran Duiker, said these projects will enable AusNet to continue to distribute gas in a reliable and safe manner into the future.
“AusNet is focused on providing a safe and reliable gas network for our customers and preparing the network for peak periods during winter; one of the ways we do this is by replacing older gas mains,” Ms Duiker said.
Upgrading low-pressure mains to high-pressure ones helps to manage the safety risk of gas leaks associated with older low-pressure networks, and many of AusNet’s low-pressure mains are now more than 50 years old.
“Leaks and blockages, although rare, can also cause outages. The availability of high-pressure gas means greater supply reliability and reduces the chance of interruptions,” Ms Duiker said.
In the last 12 months, AusNet has replaced a total of 61km existing cast iron, PVC and galvanised low-pressure mains with high-pressure modern polyethylene pipes (poly pipes) across the four regions.
“We have prioritised regions in our network where there are likely to be more cold snaps and consecutive cold days, and areas where there is a higher chance of outages, because they are on the fringe of our networks,” Ms Duiker said.
In Geelong, AusNet has renewed 11km of existing low-pressure gas mains to date, and the utility said that replacement works on Aberdeen Street will be completed by the end of June 2025, which will conclude all of the region’s low-pressure to high-pressure mains replacement works.
Since 2007, AusNet has upgraded 356km of Geelong’s gas network to high-pressure pipes.
Over in Stawell, AusNet crews have renewed 11.5km of existing low-pressure gas mains, with an additional 17km underway.
Replacement works on Fisher Street have been completed, Napier Street works will be completed by September 2025 and Seaby Street will be completed by February 2026.
By March 2026, AusNet said it will have upgraded all of Stawell’s gas network to high-pressure pipes.
Warrnambool has seen an incredible 21km of low-pressure mains replaced in the last 12 months, and AusNet said that works to replace an additional 22km are now underway.
The utility said that the replacement works on Hyland Street are completed and Cramer Street is close to completion. Laverock Road will start around August 2025, which AusNet anticipates will be finished by February 2026.
Replacement works on Viewpoint Street and High Street in Ararat have been completed, with 18km of the regions existing low-pressure gas mains now renewed and an additional 18km still underway.
AusNet said that Blake Street works will be completed by the end of 2025, with Banfield Street works to be completed by March 2026, at which time the utility will have upgraded all of Ararat’s gas network to high-pressure pipes.
