But the successful bid in 2015 for NSW transmission business Transgrid, that saw Spark emerge with a 15 per cent stake, represented a  turning point  for the company.

Francis says it became clear it wasn’t going to be business as usual in the energy industry. It wasn’t going to remain in a steady growth phase, but benefit from the tailwind of accelerating electrification of the economy. It also had a vital role in the push to renewables and lower emissions.

Francis says Spark wanted to be at the forefront of those revolutions. The company could support lower emissions by using its infrastructure to efficiently connect and move renewable energy around the national market.

But Spark also decided to invest directly in underlying renewable energy generation. It now has an additional clear goal: to build a platform of contracted renewable assets – including wind, solar and storage – potentially totalling one gigawatt of electricity generation valued at around $1 billion.

Its first renewables investment was the acquisition in April 2019 of the Bomen Solar Farm project near Wagga Wagga in New South Wales, which it has now built and commissioned successfully.

While the renewables investments will represent less than 15 per cent of its total asset base, Spark’s push did create uncertainty among shareholders. “People invest in the business because of the long-term secure and robust  regulatory framework that prevails over our assets,” Francis says. “Any change comes with question marks.”

So, Spark built a narrative to tell shareholders. It said the renewables push would not compromise the strength and qualities of existing assets. It also said Spark’s renewables investments were a natural, gradual outreach into an adjacent asset class.

Spark provided further comfort to shareholders by emphasising it won’t be exposed to energy price volatility. Its renewable assets will have long-term contracts. The Bomen Solar Farm has lengthy contracts to sell energy to Westpac and Flow Power. Some 95 per cent of its output is contracted for the first five years, and 82 per cent has been contracted in total over the first ten years.

Execution has been a question mark hanging over renewables. But Francis says Spark is now getting kudos from investors for successfully completing the construction of Bomen on time and under budget. “We’ve demonstrated we know what we are doing.”

If Spark hits certain targets, the company could generate compound growth in its asset base of more than six per cent a year over the next four years. That’s well above previous compound growth of 1.5 per cent to two per cent a year.

So far, existing investors have responded well. “We haven’t scared off any shareholders; we haven’t seen any fundamental shift in terms of our major shareholders or register composition.”

The key to Spark’s investor relations strategy around renewables has been about a clear and consistent story, Francis says. “Investors have a short amount of time to think about you. They are also risk averse, particularly in our industry. It’s taken us years to get to this point. It’s a journey. It’s about increasing the amount of time you have in front of investors, getting clear on the story, and above all being consistent in the repetition of your story.”