The statutory obligations relevant to network operators and our role as the regulator are governed by a number of regulatory instruments. Not all network operators are subject to the same obligations. We provide a summary of certain obligations of network operators below, to assist stakeholders. This summary is an aide only, and should not be relied upon by licence holders and other stakeholders as a substitute for thoroughly reading all relevant regulatory instruments.
All network operators with assets in NSW must be aware of and fully comply with all their legal obligations.
All network operators
All networks operators with assets in NSW are subject to at least some provisions of the following instruments:
Electricity Supply (General) Regulation 2014
Electricity Supply (Safety and Network Management) Regulation 2014
Licensed network operators
Ausgrid, Endeavour Energy, Essential Energy and Transgrid (Network Operators) each hold an operating licence. We have provided links to each network operator’s licence below.
IPART conducted a review of the Network Operators’ licences in 2022. The Minister for Energy issued new licences to the Network Operators on 7 September 2023. Please see the review page for details of the review.
Previous licences (and any subsequent variations) can be found on the Superseded Network Operators’ licences webpage.
| Network Operator | Ministerially imposed licence conditions |
|
Ausgrid Licence granted to the Ausgrid Operator Partnership |
Licence - Signed by the Minister on 7 September 2023. The licence is subject to additional conditions as provided for by the Electricity Supply Act 1995 and the regulations under it. |
|
Endeavour Energy Licence granted to the Endeavour Energy Network Operator Partnership |
Licence - Signed by the Minister on 7 September 2023. The licence is subject to additional conditions as provided for by the Electricity Supply Act 1995 and the regulations under it. |
| Essential Energy |
Licence - Signed by the Minister on 22 September 2023. The licence is subject to additional conditions as provided for by the Electricity Supply Act 1995 and the regulations under it. |
|
Transgrid Licence granted to the NSW Electricity Networks Operations Pty Limited |
Licence - Signed by the Minister on 15 September 2023. The licence is subject to additional conditions as provided for by the Electricity Supply Act 1995 and the regulations under it. |
|
ACEREZ Licence granted to ACEREZ Partnership
|
Licence - Signed by the Minister on 19 September 2024 The licence is subject to additional conditions as provided for by the Electricity Supply Act 1995 and the regulations under it. |
An additional obligation applies to the fully or partially privately leased networks
In 2015, the Government announced that Ausgrid, Endeavour Energy, and Transgrid would be fully or partially leased to private operators:
- Transgrid was fully leased to private operators in December 2015
- Ausgrid was partially leased (50.4%) to private operators in December 2016, and
- Endeavour Energy was partially leased (50.4%) to private operators in June 2017.
The Code of Practice for Authorised Network Operators, which relates to environmental impact assessments and compliance, is required as a licence condition. It applies to each network operator from the date it was transacted.