NEXTDC chief executive Craig Scroggie has apologised to West Footscray residents over the 15-metre power poles that were to carry electricity along their streets to the company’s M3 data centre in Melbourne.
Speaking at the UBS Australasia Conference in Sydney on 9 November 2026, Scroggie said he was “deeply sorry” the community felt left behind, The Age reported. “I already have a solution to the power,” he told the conference, Capital Brief reported, though he said it would count for nothing without the community on board.
Those poles were part of Jemena’s 66kV works through West Footscray and Yarraville, at about twice the height of typical power poles. Jemena suspended the works in September after residents objected and the council withheld consent until more consultation took place. That delay took about A$140 million out of NEXTDC’s FY27 revenue guidance.
Scroggie accepted Jemena’s finding that residents had not been consulted enough, The Age reported, and took responsibility himself. He also defended the site, which he said sits on a zoned industrial estate that has been used for industry for more than a century.
The company will announce the fix once it is finalised and contracted. Until then, any project without a customer contract stays on hold, Scroggie said, Reuters reported. Contracted work carries on, including the 250MW program at S4 in Sydney.
Goodman Group and Digital Realty have since bought 9.9 per cent of NEXTDC. Shareholders hear the outcome of the company’s capital spending review at the annual general meeting on 20 November, and the Victorian Government is expected to decide on M3 Stages 6 and 7 after the state election on 28 November.
