Consultation

Illawarra Renewable Energy Zone Registration of Interest

The Registration of Interest (ROI) is the first step in engaging with industry on the design of the Illawarra Renewable Energy Zone (REZ). The Energy Corporation of NSW (EnergyCo) invites energy project developers and businesses with large electrical loads to register their interest to take part in the Illawarra REZ.

The Illawarra REZ has two main objectives:

• To connect multiple renewable energy generators and storage projects to help replace the State’s ageing coal-fired power stations.
• To provide cheap, reliable, and clean electricity to homes and businesses in NSW, which will help industries thrive and create jobs as the State transitions to a low-cost, low-carbon future.

Submissions received will be used to inform the best timing, capacity, design and location of the Illawarra REZ in conjunction with ongoing stakeholder and community consultation. This includes consideration to existing agricultural and primary-land uses, local priorities, existing economic activity and social values.

We encourage renewable energy project developers and businesses with large electrical loads in the Illawarra region to respond. The ROI is also open to developers and businesses with projects located outside the Illawarra region as these may also influence the design and location of the REZ. The final REZ boundary will be the subject of a formal declaration by the Minister as set out by the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act (2020).

To respond to the ROI, please complete the online ROI form available here. The ROI will be open for six weeks from and closes on Friday, 22 July 2022. For any further information or to receive a copy of the ROI questions, please email contact [at] energyco.nsw.gov.au or visit Illawarra Renewable Energy Zone.

This ROI is for information gathering and consultation purposes only. Participation is voluntary, is not assessable and will not be used in any future NSW Government contracting processes. All commercially sensitive information received during the ROI process will be treated confidentially. 

Draft Gas Supply (Safety and Network Management) Regulation 2022 

The safety of gas users in NSW is promoted and protected through the Gas Supply Act 1996.  

The Gas Supply (Safety and Network Management) Regulation 2013 supports the Gas Supply Act in its objectives to regulate gas reticulation and gas supply in the interests of NSW customers, facilitate the continuous supply of natural gas to customers, and promote the safe use of gas.  

Under the conditions of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1989, the regulation will be repealed on 1 September 2022 and rewritten to become the Gas Supply (Safety and Network Management) Regulation 2022.  

The public is invited to comment on the draft Regulatory Impact Statement and the content and provisions of the Gas Supply (Safety and Network Management) Regulation 2022.  

To provide feedback on the draft regulations or the RIS, send an email to energy [at] planning.nsw.gov.au by Wednesday 6 July 2022.

Draft guidelines on orders prohibiting connection to network infrastructure in Renewable Energy Zones 

EnergyCo is welcoming feedback on the ‘Draft guidelines on orders prohibiting connection to network infrastructure in Renewable Energy Zones’. The draft guidelines provide guidance on the purpose and scope of a connection prohibition order made under section 29 of the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act 2020. 

The draft guidelines are open for feedback until Wednesday 29 June 2022. You can find out more about the draft guidelines and how to provide feedback by visiting the new EnergyCo website here.

Draft Guidelines for Access Scheme Declarations

The NSW Government has now published the Draft Guidelines for Access Scheme Declarations, available here.

The guidelines provide information on how the Minister will exercise the function of declaring access schemes. They build upon feedback received on the REZ access rights and scheme design: Central-West Orana consultation paper.

We recognise that each REZ will have unique opportunities and challenges. The guidelines are intended to retain flexibility to allow the Minister to declare an access scheme for each REZ that provides the best outcome for local communities and NSW electricity consumers. 

The draft access scheme declaration is expected to be published for consultation in July 2022. The declaration will operationalise the terms and conditions of the Central-West Orana REZ access scheme.

To provide feedback on the guidelines, send an email to electricity.roadmap [at] dpie.nsw.gov.au by 5pm Wednesday 8 June. Please put your name and 'Draft Guidelines for Access Scheme Declarations' in the subject line.

Policy Papers on Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) Infrastructure Projects

Part 5 of the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act 2020 (the EII Act) sets out the framework for REZ Network Infrastructure Projects. The NSW Office of Energy and Climate Change (OECC), Energy Corporation of NSW (EnergyCo), the Australian Energy Regulator and AEMO Services Limited (as the Consumer Trustee) have developed three papers to support the implementation of the Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap.

Visit the regulatory framework page for further information about these papers.

Competitive Tender Process

AEMO Services Ltd welcomes feedback on the draft LTESA and Project Development Agreement term sheets for generation and long-duration storage. The documents set out the key contractual terms and conditions for the generation and long-duration storage, LTESAs and the construction phase of projects. The term sheets are subject to final approval by the AEMO Services Board. Find more information and provide feedback via their webpage. 

AEMO Services held an interactive session on Competitive Tender Design, LTESA and REZ access rights on 7 February 2022. The recording of the interactive online session is available here  and the presentation is available here. 

Previous consultation documents relating to the Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap are available on the resources page.  For consultation documents relating to the development of regulations under the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act 2020, please visit the regulatory framework page.