Today, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) has published its final NSW Electricity Infrastructure Fund Contribution Determination Guideline and associated Contribution Determination Model relating to recovery of the costs associated with the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap (the Roadmap).
Our annual contribution determinations provide the Roadmap’s Scheme Financial Vehicle with sufficient funds to meet its liabilities as they fall due. These liabilities arise from the costs of underwriting new renewable generation or storage projects, investment in network infrastructure projects and the administration costs of Roadmap entities.
Our Guideline sets out our process and method for making contribution determinations under the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act 2020 (EII Act).
Since the commencement of the EII Act, we have made four contribution determinations. Our fourth contribution determination was gazetted on 18 February 2026.
During July and August this year, we consulted on our draft Guideline to ensure the contribution determination framework remains fit for purpose as the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap matures. The now finalised Guideline and Model are designed to:
- improve the operation of the framework
- clarify the roles and responsibilities of scheme entities
- set out key methodologies the AER proposes to apply
- improve transparency and predictability for stakeholders.
Background
We were appointed as a regulator under the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act 2020 (EII Act) in November 2021.
Under the EII Act, we are required to make annual contribution determinations to set the amount needed to cover the costs of implementing the Roadmap. The Roadmap’s independent Scheme Financial Vehicle will recover these costs from the NSW distribution network service providers who pass through the costs to NSW consumers as part of the network component of their retail electricity bills.
In the National Electricity Rules (NER) context, the Roadmap’s contribution determination is a jurisdictional scheme, and meets the eligibility criteria in the NER as assessed by the AER.