AusNet rolls out unified customer connections platform to fast‑track services as grid demand rises

MELBOURNE, Australia, May 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- AusNet, Australia's largest diversified energy network business, has collaborated with IBM Consulting (NYSE: IBM^[1]) and Salesforce to transform how customers and electricians request and manage electricity connections. The new single, unified platform gives AusNet the ability to deliver faster, more transparent services for customers and electricians while scaling to meet rising demand — a timely, future-ready transformation as Australia prepares for increasing grid pressure driven by electrification, rooftop solar, EV charging and new energy applications.

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Over time, as AusNet's customer‑connection processes expanded across multiple manual systems and touchpoints, the company identified an opportunity to modernise and streamline how requests were managed across these channels. This led to the creation of a single, integrated digital portal that now brings customer and operational touchpoints together in one place. Customers and electricians can now submit, track and manage all connection requests centrally, supported by a unified data model that consolidates every interaction — from metering, solar and supply applications to contact‑centre calls, retailer updates, and solar or new‑supply submissions.

The platform, designed and delivered by IBM Consulting, in collaboration with Salesforce, automates key steps including service‑order creation, data validation, price estimation and supply‑availability checks, significantly reducing manual workload and strengthening compliance. Early results include 51% of applications now processed end‑to‑end automatically, validation times reduced by more than 80%, and reduced guaranteed service level (GSL) infringements since go‑live.

IBM and AusNet were recently recognised for their joint impact, with the collaboration receiving honours in the 2025 Salesforce Partner Innovation Awards^[2]. The awards celebrate partners from around the world that deliver exceptional customer experiences and redefine industries through the Salesforce ecosystem. The recognition highlights the strength of the IBM–AusNet-Salesforce collaboration and the significant results achieved together.

"As the energy transition accelerates, we needed a system that could scale with demand while giving customers and electricians clarity, speed and transparency," said Stephen Thompson, General Manager Customer & Community, AusNet. "The new platform streamlines the entire customer‑connection journey, improves accuracy and resilience, and establishes a future‑ready digital foundation for the rising grid demand we expect over the next decade."

"Connecting customers to energy shouldn't be complicated," said Jeremy Smith, SVP - Head of Enterprise ANZ, Salesforce. "By bringing the connection process together through a single Salesforce‑powered experience, AusNet now has a unified view of its customers and the ability to automate previously manual steps — preparing the organisation for tomorrow's electrification surge."

"Australia's energy transition requires distributors to rethink how they operate, and AusNet is setting a benchmark for how essential infrastructure providers can modernise for the decade ahead," said Juhi McClelland, Managing Partner, IBM Consulting APAC. "IBM is pleased to bring deep utilities expertise and our process‑reengineering capabilities, integrating Salesforce technologies to deliver a modern, scalable connection‑management system that positions AusNet as a next-generation, service‑led utility."

Looking ahead, AusNet, with support from IBM and Salesforce, plans to extend the platform into intelligent contact‑centre capabilities, broader stakeholder management, and deeper integration across field operations and asset planning. This will further advance AusNet's ambition to build a "grid of the future" capable of supporting Australia's long‑term decarbonisation and electrification goals.

Media Contact:Paranee ReymondonIBM Communicationsparanee@th.ibm.com^[3]

Logo - https://mma.prnasia.com/media2/2319830/IBM_LOGO_1.jpg?p=medium600^[4]

References

1. ^{^} IBM (www.ibm.com)
2. ^{^} the 2025 Salesforce Partner Innovation Awards (www.salesforce.com)
3. ^{^} paranee@th.ibm.com (www.prnasia.com)
4. ^{^} https://mma.prnasia.com/media2/2319830/IBM_LOGO_1.jpg?p=medium600 (mma.prnasia.com)