Longford Plants update September 2020

This year has been challenging on many levels for all of us, to say the least. At Esso, our team at Longford Plants and in our Sale office have been busily focused on working through the challenges posed by the current pandemic to ensure that energy continues to flow to our homes and businesses, while assisting where we can in the local community.

As a general rule in our business, when the mercury goes down, gas demand goes up. To prepare for this our team undertook significant work across summer and autumn to prepare for the increased demand during the colder months. I’m pleased to say that even with COVID-19 restrictions this work paid off and we have supplied gas through the peak of winter gas demand with near perfect reliability. 

This has been especially important this year due to the impacts of COVID-19 on energy use and despite higher residential demand as many people worked from home we’ve been able to continue to meet gas demand during this very different winter.

On the community front, it’s our role as a team to contribute locally where we can, more so than ever. Our Bass Strait Charity Fund uses money raised through staff fundraising initiatives and matched from Esso’s contributions program, to support community organisations providing a service to the Gippsland community. 

This year, the Bass Strait Charity Fund has chosen the Sale Ambulance Auxiliary as one of the local charities it will support this year. Support from the Fund will allow the Sale Ambulance Auxiliary to provide two fluid warmers in each of their two ambulances in Sale, which are a vital piece of equipment for paramedic crews especially due to the pandemic and the flu season.

We’re also supporting A Better Life for Foster Kids to give children in Gippsland a more positive experience from the first time they enter their new foster home by contributing to restocking an entire Crisis Case Depot. The crisis cases provided to foster kids by A Better Life for Foster Kids include an array of around 55 essential items needed in a child’s first week in foster care. 

We are incredibly proud to support local community groups where we can and remain committed to being a strong member of the wider Gippsland community. If you would like more information about our operations or our community initiatives please feel free to drop me a line at communityANZ@exxonmobil.com.

Kartik Garg, Longford Plants Manager