Essential Energy Plug and Play ARENA Funding trial - Ring-fencing waiver application - April 2026

On 20 April 2026, the AER received a waiver application from Essential Energy seeking an exemption from clauses 3.1(b) and 4.2 of the Ring‑fencing guideline (electricity distribution). The proposed waiver would support Essential Energy’s ARENA-funded ‘Plug and Play’ trial, under which it plans to install, maintain and lease 300 kerbside EV chargers in regional NSW.

The chargers would be housed in a recessed charging port within composite streetlight and distribution poles. Essential Energy is seeking the waiver until 30 June 2033. If granted, it would allow the business to lease the charging infrastructure within the poles to charge point operators and use its staff to maintain the equipment. Essential Energy’s role would be limited to owning, installing, maintaining and leasing the infrastructure, while retail charging services such as pricing, billing and customer engagement would be provided by charge point operators.

The ‘Plug and Play’ trial has two streams. This waiver application relates to stream 2, which involves leasing 300 EV chargers embedded in composite poles. Stream 1 focuses on reducing site-selection and connection barriers across 1,000 poles to make sites charger-ready for third-party EV charger deployment. Together, the two streams are intended to test whether reducing barriers alone is enough to encourage market participation, or whether DNSP-owned shared infrastructure is needed in some locations.