Current consultations
Draft South West Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) Access Scheme Declaration
The NSW Government has made the Draft South West REZ Access Scheme publicly available for consultation. Public submissions are invited from 2 March to 15 May 2023.
The draft declaration contains the terms and conditions of the proposed South West REZ Access Scheme. It also outlines the procedures for granting access rights, how and when the amount of capacity granted may be increased and sets the duration of access rights.
The Draft South West REZ Access Scheme builds on the extensive consultation and policy design undertaken in the development of the CWO REZ access scheme. It leverages the fundamental design principles of the CWO scheme, with some modifications in recognition of the unique features of the South West REZ.
The NSW Government has also published a South West REZ Access Scheme Design Position Paper that explains the policy design and rationale for key features of the scheme. It is intended to provide sufficient information for stakeholders to make informed submissions.
The exhibition is an opportunity for stakeholders to provide input to help inform the Minister’s decision regarding whether or not to implement a scheme in the South West, and what the design of that scheme should be.
To provide feedback on the Draft South West REZ Access Scheme please send your submission to electricity.roadmap@dpie.nsw.gov.au with ‘Your Name/Organisation – Draft South West REZ Draft Access Scheme Declaration’ in the subject line.
South West REZ access scheme webinar
The Office of Energy and Climate Change, together with EnergyCo, will host an online briefing about the Draft South West REZ Access Scheme and Policy Design on:
Friday 28 April 2023 – 2-4pm
Online
Information about the briefing and how to register will be available from mid-April 2023.
Proposed regulatory reforms to enable the access rights scheme
The NSW Government is consulting, on behalf of the Minister for Energy, with distribution network service providers and transmission network service providers on some of the proposed regulatory reforms outlined in the CWO REZ Access Rights and Scheme Design Position Paper.
Items 1 – 7 in Appendix B of the CWO REZ Access Rights and Scheme Design Position Paper contemplate a regulation to modify and/or disapply provisions of the National Electricity (NSW) Law or the National Electricity Rules to allow the open access regime to be replaced by an access scheme declared by the Minister under the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act 2020 (EII Act). An excerpt of the proposed regulation is available.
As required by section 27(2) of the EII Act, the NSW Government is seeking submissions from network service providers on the extent to which these proposed regulatory reforms may affect the operation and safety of network infrastructure.
Formal consultation is open until 5pm Thursday 18 August 2022. To provide feedback, please send your submission to electricity.roadmap@dpie.nsw.gov.au with ‘Your Name/Organisation – Proposed regulatory reforms to enable the access rights scheme’ in the subject line.
CWO REZ Draft Access Scheme Declaration
The NSW Government has made the Central-West Orana REZ Draft Access Scheme Declaration publicly available for consultation. Submissions are sought from the public from 15 July to 12 August 2022.
The declaration will operationalise the terms and conditions of the CWO REZ access scheme. An access scheme declaration also outlines the procedures for granting access rights, how and when the amount of capacity granted may be increased and sets the duration of access rights. To provide feedback on the draft CWO REZ Access Scheme Declaration please send your submission to electricity.roadmap@dpie.nsw.gov.au with ‘Your Name/Organisation – CWO REZ Draft Access Scheme Declaration’ in the subject line.
CWO REZ Access Rights and Scheme Design Position Paper
The NSW Government has published the CWO REZ Access Rights and Scheme Design Position Paper. The Position Paper explains the policy design and purpose of the CWO REZ Draft Access Scheme Declaration and the proposed regulations that will enable the CWO REZ Access Scheme, including modifications to the National Electricity Rules (NER).
The paper also provides an overview of the streamlined REZ connection process option, as well as minimum regulated components of access fees for community and employment purposes.
This paper outlines a set of final positions that represent more than a year of public consultation, expert advice, stakeholder workshops and valuable feedback. The paper includes an overview of how stakeholder feedback received on the December 2021 Consultation Paper has been considered to inform the CWO REZ Access Scheme.
Guidelines for Access Scheme Declarations
In May and June 2022, the NSW Government completed public consultation on draft Guidelines for Access Scheme Declarations.
The Final Guidelines for Access Scheme Declarations provide information on how the Minister will exercise the function of declaring access schemes. They build upon feedback received on the draft Guidelines for Access Scheme Declarations, and on the REZ access rights and scheme design: Central-West Orana consultation paper. We thank all stakeholders for your input and feedback.
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 Final Guidelines for Access Scheme Declarations are available online.
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 EnergyCo website.
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 the AEMO website.
AEMO Services held an interactive session on Competitive Tender Design, LTESA and REZ access rights on 7 February 2022. The recording of the interactive session is available online, as well as the presentation.
Previous consultations
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.