The Minns Government will commission an independent check-up on NSW’s energy policies, to ensure New South Wales has the right policy settings to deliver a timely and cost-effective transition of our electricity sector.
Mr Cameron O’Reilly has been appointed to conduct this work. Mr O’Reilly is an energy and public policy specialist, with extensive experience working across the Australian energy market.
Mr O’Reilly will stress test electricity supply and reliability in metropolitan and regional New South Wales.
Supported by an expert advisory panel, he will identify whether any additional measures may be required to deliver cheap and reliable electricity.
The check up will ensure that NSW:
- has the right policy settings and programs to deliver the generation and transmission infrastructure required a timely and cost-effective transition of our electricity sector;
- can manage any residual risks to reliability and price in the short-term, should the Eraring Power Station close in 2025; and
- considers opportunities to improve community engagement, workforce readiness and supply chains.
Since the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap – NSW’s plan to deliver renewable energy to replace ageing coal power stations – was first released in 2020, global competition for investment has intensified, supply chain constraints and skills shortages have become more acute, and some regulatory and planning issues have become apparent. Privatisation has made delivery of the energy transition more difficult.
All tenders under the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap are out of scope and will not be affected by this work.
Energy rebates for households and business are also out of scope.
An expert advisory panel will support this work. The panel will consist of representatives of key stakeholder groups relevant to the electricity sector transition in NSW (e.g. First Nations, consumers, generators, unions, construction contractors, network businesses, regulators, market bodies and local government).
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