MELBOURNE (Reuters) - France's Total SA (PA:TOTF) is seeking to expand its power retailing business in Australia from the middle of this year as part of a global plan to sell electricity to 9 million sites by 2023.
Total already sells power to the Gladstone liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, in which it is a stakeholder, and wants to supply electricity to other large customers across Australia's eastern states, it said in an application to the Australian Energy Regulator.
"TGPAU's proposed target market is the very large customer end of the market (for example industrial and government customers)," Total Gas & Power Australia (TGPAU) said in its application.
The application was filed in March and released by the regulator on Monday for public comment.
The oil and gas supermajor is targeting a similar market as rival Royal Dutch Shell (L:RDSa), which last year entered the Australian power industry taking over ERM Power, the country's No.2 energy retailer to businesses and industry.
As of 2018, Total said it sold 37 terrawatt hours of electricity to more than 5 million customers and traded 250 TWh of electricity in 11 countries.
Total's footprint in Australia includes stakes in the Ichthys LNG project in northern Australia, solar farms in Victoria and New South Wales and a battery project in Western Australia.