Secure supply and enable connections: Pakenham South & Surrounding Areas
Final Project Assessment Report – Summary
Regulatory Investment Test – Distribution – November 2026
AusNet initiated Regulatory Investment Test for Distribution (RIT-D) to investigate and evaluate options to efficiently maintain a reliable supply of power to the customers in Pakenham area as the forecast demand exceeds the capacity of several 22kV distribution feeders originating from existing five zone substations Clyde North (CLN), Cranbourne East (CRE), Officer (OFR), Pakenham (PHM) and Lang Lang (LLG) that currently supplies the load in the growth area.
- The Options Screening Report (OSR), which represents the first step in the RIT-D process in accordance with clause 5.17 of the National Electricity Rules (NER) and section 4.2 of the RIT-D Application Guidelines was published in February 2026.
- The publication of Draft Project Assessment Report (DPAR) marks the second step in the RIT-D process, in line with clause 5.17.4(j)and provides information about the draft conclusions of the RIT-D which got published in August 2026
- This Final Project Assessment Report (FPAR) represents the final stage of the Regulatory Investment Test for Distribution (RIT-D) process and has been prepared in accordance with the provisions of clause 5.17.5(c) of the National Electricity Rules (NER).
No non-network proposals were received during the RIT-D OSR, DPAR consultation phase.
The preferred solution is to establish a new Pakenham South zone substation and three new distribution feeders. The estimated capital cost of the preferred option is $72.2million (real, $2025).
Registered Participants or interested parties may, within 30 days after the publication of this report, dispute the conclusions made by AusNet in this report with the AER. Submissions should be emailed to [email protected] on or before 7th Dec 2026. In the subject field, please reference ‘RIT-D FPAR Pakenham South & Surrounding Areas’.