Electricity network connections
The Electricity Supply Act mandates that electricity customers have the right to choose who carries out the connection services work needed to connect to the existing electricity network, build an extension to the electricity network or increase the capacity of an existing electricity connection. This work is therefore described as being contestable work.
The Australian Energy Market Agreement in part agrees to establish a national framework for electricity network planning, connections and capital contributions, and to consider the impediments to distributed generation and demand-side responses. Further information can be found at Ministerial Council on Energy.
New connections
If you are seeking to establish a new connection to the electricity network, you should contact the relevant distributor for your region. If you are experiencing difficulty in establishing a new network connection, Industry & Investment NSW - Minerals & Energy Division may be able to assist. Please contact the Manager, Energy Networks Performance Policy on 02 8281 7449, or the Energy Information Line on 1300 136 888 or email energy.info@industry.nsw.gov.au to report your difficulty.
Each electricity distributor has their own connection policy requirements, which can be found at:
Further information on contestability can be found in the Contestable Works section of our website.
Codes of Practice
The following Codes of Practice relate to network connections:
- Code of Practice Service and Installation Rules for NSW (PDF 113KB)
- Code of Practice Installation Safety Management (PDF 169KB)
- Code of Practice Contestable Works (PDF 158KB)
- Code of Practice Electricity Service Standards (PDF 161KB)
- Code of Practice Demand Management for Electricity Distributors (PDF 733KB)
Market Operation Rules
The following electricity Market Operations Rules, currently administered by Industry & Investment NSW - Minerals & Energy Division under the Electricity Supply Act 1995, are relevant to network connections:
- Market Operations Rule No1 of 2001 (PDF 32KB)
- Market Operations Rule No2 of 2001 (PDF 48KB)
- Market Operations Rule No3 of 2001 (PDF 116KB)
Electricity Network Regulation
The Australian Energy Regulator (regulator) and the Australian Energy Market Commission (rule maker) are now responsible for network regulation. The Australian Energy Regulator is currently considering submissions on the NSW network operator's pricing for distribution network services for the period 2009-14. Relevant information is available on the Australian Energy Regulator's website at NSW Distribution Pricing Determination 2009-2014.
As a transitional measure, the NSW Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) will continue to monitor compliance with the network price determination that is currently in place. This determination will run until 30 June 2009.
In April 2002, IPART released its Capital Contributions and Repayments for Connections to Electricity Distribution Networks in New South Wales Determination (PDF 108KB).