Entities delivering the Roadmap

The Energy Corporation of NSW (EnergyCo) will be the Infrastructure Planner for the first five NSW Renewable Energy Zones set out in the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act 2020. It will coordinate where the generation, long duration storage and firming capacity will be built.

EnergyCo is responsible for planning the location of Renewable Energy Zones and contracting and overseeing the suppliers delivering the transmission network infrastructure required to connect the generation built in Renewable Energy Zones to the electricity grid.

Find out more about EnergyCo and Renewable Energy Zones.

The Consumer Trustee is an independent role, appointed by the Minister for Energy and Environment under the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act 2020.

The Consumer Trustee’s purpose is to act independently and in the long-term financial interests of NSW electricity customers to improve the affordability, reliability, security and sustainability of electricity supply. It does this through long-term planning and well-structured procurement processes.

The Consumer Trustee will play a pivotal role in:

• planning the level of investment in generation, storage, firming and network infrastructure over time in NSW
• authorising network infrastructure projects
• administering tenders to identify the best generation, firming and storage projects to offer Long-Term Energy Service Agreements
• appointing a Financial Trustee to establish, own and administer the Scheme Financial Vehicle and execute Long-Term Energy Service Agreements. 

The Minister for Energy and Environment appointed AEMO Services Ltd, a subsidiary of the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), as the NSW Consumer Trustee.

The Minister made this appointment following a rigorous evaluation process undertaken by the Department of Planning and Environment. The evaluation was guided by strategic principles and criteria we publicly released in March and consultation with industry, our counterparts in state and federal government and AEMO itself.

AEMO Services, as the Consumer Trustee, has published the 2021 Infrastructure Investment Objectives (IIO) Report (7 December 2021). The IIO Report outlines to investors, developers, and the public what generation and long duration storage is required in NSW and when, while minimising costs for NSW consumers and maintaining reliable electricity supply. The IIO report sets out what is needed, including:

• the NSW Consumer Trustee’s 20-year Development Pathway for the construction of electricity infrastructure in NSW, and
• its 10-Year Plan for conducting competitive tenders for Long-term Energy Service Agreements (LTESAs) to give effect to the Development Pathway.

The IIO report will be updated every two years.

AEMO Services Ltd has been consulting stakeholders about the draft LTESA and Project Development Agreement term sheets for generation and long-duration storage. For more information please visit the AEMO Services website.

The Minister for Energy has appointed Dr Mark Apthorpe as the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Jobs Advocate. Dr Apthorpe is based in the Hunter and is the current chair of the Hunter Plant Operator Training School Ltd (HPOTS) and the Hunter section of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT). He has also held senior executive roles in energy and logistics businesses.

In his role as Jobs Advocate, Dr Apthorpe will advise the Minister on:

• strategies and incentives to encourage investment, development, workforce development, employment, education and training in the energy sector as New South Wales transitions to renewable energy. His focus will be on regional NSW, including the Hunter, Central Coast, Illawarra, Far West, South West, New England and Central West regions of New South Wales.
• road, rail and port infrastructure required in the regions specified above to promote export opportunities for generation, storage and network technology.

The Minister for Energy has appointed the Renewable Energy Sector Board co-chairs and members, and the NSW Government has made regulations on the Board’s functions and procedures.

The Board will prepare a plan for the NSW renewable energy sector. The plan will set out how to cost effectively maximise the use of local goods and services, and employment of suitably qualified local workers, in the construction and operation of infrastructure under the Roadmap. The plan will also consider how to foster opportunities for apprentices and trainees.

The Board held its first meeting on 5 March 2021. Read more about the establishment of the Board. As required under the Act, the Board submitted the first report on its activities to the Minister by 31 March 2021 and its second report by 30 June 2021.

To inform development of the Board’s plan, the Department commissioned UTS Institute of Sustainable Futures and SGS Economics & Planning to conduct a baseline and opportunity study of employment, skills and supply chains in the NSW renewable energy sector. If you require accessible versions of the document, please contact electricity.roadmap [at] dpie.nsw.gov.au.

The Regulator has a number of statutory functions under the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act 2020, including determining the amount payable to network operators for network infrastructure projects. Its functions may be divided, and more than one body or person may be appointed. 

On 12 November 2021, the NSW Government appointed the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) as a regulator under the NSW Electricity Roadmap.

The key functions the AER has been appointed to under the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act 2020 include:

• making 5-year revenue determinations for network infrastructure projects authorised by the Consumer Trustee, including the calculation of the prudent, efficient and reasonable capital costs of these projects
• making annual contribution determinations in relation to the Electricity Infrastructure Fund
• approving a risk management framework developed by the Consumer Trustee
• reviewing tender rules in relation to long-term energy service agreements.

The NSW Government has appointed the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) as the Energy Security Target (EST) Monitor for the Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap, under the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act 2020 (EII Act). 

Under the appointment, AEMO is responsible for calculating and setting a 10‑year energy security target for NSW. This target is designed to provide market certainty as it ensures that there will be reliable supplies of electricity available to meet electricity demands over the medium term. 

AEMO is also responsible for assessing and monitoring whether the firm capacity (generation, firming and storage, transmission capacity) is sufficient to meet the energy security target under different scenarios.

AEMO, as the EST Monitor, has released its first Energy Security Target Monitor (ESTM) report (December 2021). Under the EII Act, AEMO is required to provide an ESTM Report annually to the Minister for Energy and Environment.