Branding design agency, Principals, has ignited a new energy brand, Solstice, for Tas Gas, as the company broadens its horizons beyond gas.

Tas Gas, a stalwart in the energy sector, has been operating gas infrastructure and retail services in Tasmania and regional Victoria for two decades. Now, it's branching out, with Solstice marking its foray into the electricity retail market. The new brand work comes after Tas Gas sought a licence to become an electricity retailer earlier this year.

"For too long Tasmanians have been restricted with one local energy retailer. With rising energy prices, cost of living pressures and acceleration of the energy transition, a competitive local market and customer choice are vital," Tas Gas Retail General Manager, Sarah Thurstans, said.

Principals developed a comprehensive brand architecture for Tas Gas, encompassing its existing gas network and retail offering, as well as the new retail energy arm. A process of research and discovery then led to the “Different Energy” positioning and the Solstice brand was born.

The two companies said Solstice Energy Group encapsulates the full scope of the business, while the electricity and retail offer is represented with the Solstice Different Energy brandmark designed as a reimagining of the symbol for energy in a fresh way, creating a shorthand ‘S’ informed by the rounded form of the sun.

The Tas Gas brand will continue to be the face of the gas network.

"Solstice is an ambitious and exciting brand, a challenger in proposition and articulation. It’s brave, empowering and distinctive. This bold new brand is set to shake up the energy market, offering Tasmanians a fresh alternative," Principals Creative Director, Rachel Terkelsen, said.

"Solstice is a brand that’s community-orientated and proudly Tasmanian. A breath of fresh air in essentially a monopoly market, a true alternative to the incumbent energy provider finally giving Tasmanians choice," Thurstans added.