The Tasmanian Government has announced the appointment of Dr Dan Norton as the inaugural Chair of the new electricity company to be established following the merger of Transcend Networks and Aurora Energy.

State Minister for Energy, Bryan Green, said that Mr Norton will preside over a entity that will see savings of about $8 million a year.

“The Government is progressing some of the biggest changes we have seen to our electricity industry and it’s all about delivering real benefits to households and businesses,” Mr Green said.

“These reforms will place further downward pressure on prices so we won’t see the sorts of increases we’ve seen over the last five years.

Mr Green said the new company to manage Tasmania’s electricity transmission and distribution networks would start operating on July 1 next year.

Dr Norton will chair the Transition Board which will also include directors from the existing Transend and Aurora boards to oversee the merger. He will continue at the helm of the new company until November 2015.

“We want to ensure a seamless transition to the new company for the ongoing security and reliability of the electricity networks throughout Tasmania. 

Dr Norton is a former CEO of the Hydro Electric Commission, a CEO of Aurora Energy and is a former Chairman of the National Electricity Market Management Company (NEMMCO), the company previously responsible for managing the national electricity market.