Electricity Supply (General) and (Safety and Network Management) Regulations 2026

Project overview

We sought feedback on:

• NSW Electricity Supply (General) Regulation
• NSW Electricity Supply (Safety and Network Management) Regulation.

The NSW Government is remaking the Electricity Supply (General) Regulation 2014 (ES (General) Regulation) and the Electricity Supply (Safety and Network Management) Regulation 2014 (ES (Safety) Regulation).

The ES (General) and ES (Safety) Regulations are statutory instruments made under the Electricity Supply Act 1995 (ES Act). The ES Act regulates electricity supply, network operations and the responsibilities of electricity providers.

The consultation papers asked stakeholders to provide feedback on amendments to both regulations, including:

ES (General) Regulation

• expanding the remit of the Energy & Water Ombudsman NSW (EWON) to hear consumer complaints about energy saving technologies, including rooftop solar and home batteries
• improvements to the Social Program for Energy Codes, including introducing flexibility for consultation requirements and increasing penalties for non-compliance with the Code and for impersonating an auditor
• amendments to the Energy Savings (ESS) and Peak Demand Reduction (PDRS) Scheme provisions to allow information sharing and to permit the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) to require an audit report as part of annual reporting requirements, and
• clarifying eligibility for the green hydrogen electricity concessions and granting the minister explicit power to request information to assess concessions applications.

ES (Safety) Regulation 

• introducing a list of contestable network services that can be performed by Accredited Service Providers (ASPs)
• clarifying the roles and responsibilities of auditors when they are being appointed to audit a network operator's Safety Management System
• changes to notice requirements when a) carrying out excavation work and b) when distributors can refuse to connect or disconnect unsafe electrical installations, and
• if there are any additional reforms to the ES (Safety) Regulation that should be completed prior to the completion of the related Safety Review.

We sought feedback on the 2 consultation papers below.  

We also invited feedback on any additional changes to the ES (General) and ES (Safety) Regulations below, that stakeholders believed should be considered.

Please note that matters covered by the principal Act, the ES Act, were not within the scope of this consultation.

Next steps

We will review all submissions received, including your feedback on:

• the 2 consultation papers
• the 2 proposed regulations.

We will publish the non–confidential submissions and a response to the feedback and issues raised before 1 September 2026 – the date by which both regulations need to be remade.

Consultation period

6 May – 27 May 2026

Related documents

ES (General) Regulation

• Consultation Paper (PDF, 484 KB)
• Regulatory Impact Statement (PDF, 537 KB)
• Exposure Regulation (PDF, 520 KB)

ES (Safety) Regulation 

• Consultation Paper (PDF, 392 KB)
• Regulatory Impact Statement (PDF, 450 KB)
• Exposure Regulation (PDF, 273 KB)