Govt and SA Power Networks owed tens of millions after ZEN Energy collapse
EXCLUSIVE: The state government and another major creditor of the collapsed SA company founded by Ross Garnaut ZEN Energy have revealed their financial exposure.
The state government is owed “close to $10 million” from the SA energy company forced into liquidation last Friday, Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis revealed this morning.
And the privately-owned operator of SA Power Networks – the company responsible for the state’s extensive power infrastructure network – is owed more than $20 million, InDaily can reveal.
ZEN Energy – founded by high-profile economist Ross Garnaut – on Friday appointed liquidators who will now attempt to claw back more than $1 billion owed to creditors, which includes the SA taxpayer.
But it was expected that in the best-case scenario, administrators McGrathNicol hope to be able to claw back only $45 million from the business’ assets, leaving a massive shortfall for all creditors.
“We’re still calculating that, but look, it’s close to $10 million,” Koutsantonis said about the state government’s exposure to the company’s collapse.
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“We’re one of the smaller creditors. It’s a very sad day when a company like ZEN enters into administration. I’m very concerned about some of the note holders [who] are just mums and dads in South Australia who invested in a renewable energy company.
“We’ve done everything we can to minimise our costs, and I’m very confident that we’ve done a very good job. We had a very good deal with them, and we were getting extraordinary rates, and we saved a lot of money being with them.
“But unfortunately for them, gas prices weren’t able to firm their renewables the way they would have liked, but we’re confident we can recoup almost, a lot of our money.”
The SA Government had an Across Government Electricity Retail Agreement with ZEN Energy to supply 100 per cent renewable electricity to its operations that was worth an estimated $1.53 billion until 2035. It has since switched providers to AGL Energy in July.
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In a statement, a spokesperson for SA Power Networks – owned by Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings Limited and Spark Infrastructure – said the company would “continue its open dialogue with the administrators of ZEN Energy Retail to understand what recovery options might be available”.
“ZEN Energy Retail owes SA Power Networks more than $20 million,” she said.
“Over the past two and a half years, SA Power Networks has engaged constructively with ZEN Energy Retail to assist their continued participation in the electricity market.
“However, due to ZEN Energy Retail’s outstanding debt, SA Power Networks lodged a winding up application with the Federal Court in June, in a bid to recover amounts owed for electricity usage. This court action was discontinued when ZEN Energy Retail entered administration.”
InDaily exclusively revealed that on the company’s collapse in early July, the state government transitioned to AGL to supply electricity to SA government facilities and essential services.
InDaily also revealed that ZEN Energy appointed administrators on July 3, leading to 60 job losses. As priority creditors, administrators McGrathNicol previously estimated employees would have their $8 million in entitlements paid in full if the business was liquidated.
ZEN Energy recently appointed new chair Mark Butcher in May, following the resignation of co-founder and green economist Ross Garnaut from the role in February.
The company was a major supplier of renewable energy across SA, with solar farms in Tailem Bend and Renmark and had been loss-making for some time. Losses grew from $69 million in 2024 to $163 million in 2025. As of June 30, 2026, losses had skyrocketed to $322 million, the latest report reveals.
Preliminary McGrathNicol investigations found that the company became insolvent from at least February 27, 2026 – just over four months before administrators were appointed.
Administrators said company directors attributed the collapse to ZEN’s business model being exposed to “significant market risk through long-term and substantial positions in the energy market, with market conditions moving against these positions from FY24 to FY26”.
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