EnergyCo has administered an expedited Application Process to allocate the initial tranche of Access Rights for generation and storage projects seeking access to the new Central-West Orana (CWO) Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) network.
For further information on the process please contact EnergyCo at CWO.access@energyco.nsw.gov.au and see EnergyCo’s Guidelines on the Application Process on EnergyCo’s website.
As the Consumer Trustee, AEMO Services is determining Access Fees for CWO REZ Access Rights. It is important to note that when setting Access Fees, AEMO Services is reliant on the receipt of cost and other inputs from EnergyCo, as the Infrastructure Planner. Further information about how Access Fees are expected to be set is included in the Draft Access Fee Determination, Access Fee Calculator and Access Fee Guidelines. These documents have been recently updated to provide greater clarity around the Access Fee Determination process and expected Access Fees.
| Document | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Access Fee Update | This document provides a high-level summary of the key changes between the April 2024 and current versions of the Access Fee Guidelines, Draft Access Fee Determination and Access Fee Calculator. |
| Access Fee Calculator | The Access Fee Calculator is designed to assist Proponents to estimate a Project’s Access Fee and provide transparency on the inputs used to determine the Access Fees. There have been some changes to Access Fee inputs provided by EnergyCo, including an increase in the costs of synchronous condensers following the competitive procurement process undertaken to purchase these and which is reflective of global demand for synchronous condensers. These input costs are used in determining Centralised System Strength (CSS) fees. These fees can be reduced by projects with generation and storage behind the same connection point, if Proponents can demonstrate self-remediation of system strength. |
| Draft Access Fee Determination | The Draft Access Fee Determination is the anticipated format of the statutory decision by the Consumer Trustee setting out how Access Fees are expected to be determined and adjusted under the Access Fee Determination process and includes the Access Fee Schedule for each Project. Changes to the Determination reflect editing to improve clarity and to provide further detail on the Variation Events. |
| Access Fee Guidelines | The Access Fee Guidelines outline how the Access Fees are expected to be structured and their components. Changes to the Access Fee Guidelines include updates to cost inputs and assumptions as well as further detail around how the Variation Events will work in practice. |
Last updated 14 Oct 2024
AEMO Services received a recommendation from EnergyCo for two network projects in the Central-West Orana (CWO) REZ being:
- The Main CWO REZ Network Infrastructure Project to be carried out by the ACEREZ Partnership; and
- The Enabling CWO REZ Network Infrastructure Project to be carried out by Transgrid.
AEMO Services as the Consumer Trustee determined to authorise the recommended network operators to carry out the main CWO REZ Network Infrastructure Project and the enabling CWO REZ Network Infrastructure Project, consistent with the recommendation from EnergyCo.