The Price of Power

Chinese-owned energy giant Alinta is accused of potentially putting consumer information of their million-plus customer base at risk. And Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board, which reviews large takeover deals, is under fire for not vigorously enforcing the rules they set.

Alinta Energy — one of Australia's largest energy retailers — was acquired by a Hong Kong-based private equity firm in 2017. The acquisition was approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board subject to conditions designed to protect the security of Australian consumer data.

But Adele Ferguson's investigation for The Age, Sydney Morning Herald and ABC 7.30, broadcast in March 2020, revealed that those conditions may not have been adequately enforced — raising serious questions about whether the personal and financial data of more than a million Australian energy customers was being properly protected.

The investigation drew on documents, interviews with former Alinta employees, and analysis of the FIRB's oversight mechanisms — finding that the board had approved the acquisition with conditions but had limited capacity to verify whether those conditions were being met.

The concerns were particularly acute given the sensitivity of the data involved. Energy retailers hold detailed information about their customers' homes, consumption patterns, and financial situations — information that could be valuable to foreign intelligence services or commercial competitors.

The investigation contributed to growing debate about the adequacy of Australia's foreign investment review framework, and about the need for stronger enforcement mechanisms to ensure that conditions attached to foreign investment approvals were actually being met.