The Treasurer, Alan Stockdale, has announced the sale of the gas distribution and retail companies Stratus Networks and Energy 21 to a consortium of the Australian-owned Boral Energy and Envestra Limited for $1.67 billion.

Stratus Networks/Energy 21 is one of the three gas distribution-retail companies created from the disaggregation of the former Gas and Fuel Corporation in 1997.

Under the agreement, Envestra will own and operate Stratus Networks and Boral will own and operate Energy 21.

The sale of the three gas retail/distribution companies has raised $5.25 billion and brings to $28.1 billion the total proceeds from Victoria's energy reform program since electricity reforms began in 1995.

Envestra already has gas distribution interests servicing almost 400,000 customers in South Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Boral holds exploration interests in all Australian States and supplies the New South Wales, Queensland and South Australian gas markets. It has about 400,000 LPG customers in Australia and operations in energy or building and construction materials in more than 20 countries.

The Stratus Networks distribution company covers the northern, outer eastern and southern suburbs of Melbourne including parts of the rapidly growing south-eastern corridor and the Mornington Peninsula.

Its country Victorian service area stretches north of Melbourne to the New South Wales border, including the regional centres of Shepparton, Wangaratta, Benalla, Wodonga and Echuca, and the Gippsland region including Moe and Sale.

Stratus Networks/Energy 21 owns the Albury Gas Company and distributes and sells gas to about 15,000 customers around Albury.

Energy 21 is a full-service natural-gas retail company with about 501,000 customers covering 25 municipalities. It was the first gas retailer to obtain a Victorian electricity retail licence.

The first stapled companies, Westar/Kinetik, was sold to Texas Utilities for $1.617 billion on January 31. A consortium of Utilicorp United Inc. and AMP was yesterday announced as the purchaser of the second companies, Multinet and Ikon Energy, for $1.97 billion.

The Ecogen gas-fired electricity stations at Newport and Jeeralang — the last electricity generating assets — will be sold by the end of March.

The sale of the remaining gas asset, Transmission Pipelines Australia — which owns the transmission gas pipe network — is expected to be completed in late April.

Mr Stockdale said the Government would continue to meet all existing community service obligations, including the Winter Energy Concession and the Energy Relief Grant Scheme.