Essential Energy

Plug and Play program to use existing network infrastructure to boost private enterprise

Essential Energy is positioning itself as a catalyst for electric vehicle (EV) charging in regional, rural and remote NSW in a bid to attract private investment into towns where a sustainable market has yet to emerge.

Through its Plug and Play EV charging program, Essential Energy will use existing infrastructure to address one of the biggest barriers to regional EV uptake – the high upfront cost and complexity of enabling public chargers in smaller and more dispersed communities.

Essential Energy is preparing a ring-fencing waiver application to the Australian Energy Regulator for a trial to allow retailers access to 7kW white-labelled chargers installed in 300 innovative composite pole streetlights so they can provide the retail charging services.

While private investment has delivered charging infrastructure in metropolitan areas, the economics remain challenging for areas where usage is low, long distances are involved and the start-up infrastructure costs are high.

As a result, many regional areas face being left behind without targeted intervention to lower barriers to entry.

Essential Energy’s General Manager Commercial Development, Andrew Hillsdon, says the proposed trial is designed to create a market for EV charging in regional, rural and remote locations but he is under no illusion it will be easy.

“We know there are a lot of towns where there is no ready-made market but if no-one takes the first step to install the infrastructure and lower the barriers to entry then regional people will continue to lag behind their metropolitan counterparts,” he says.

“Essential Energy has the distribution network already with the poles and the wires and it makes sense for us to take this next step to deliver the charging infrastructure that regional people need.

“We are applying for a waiver to create the opportunity for private operators to use their technology with our infrastructure – not so we can operate the chargers.”

Essential Energy’s ring-fencing application to the AER, which will be submitted soon, is to allow it to enable private operators to provide services to customers from the charging hardware it will install and maintain. All pricing, customer engagement and branding will be done by the private operators.

The proposed program, partially funded by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) under its Driving the Nation Program, will simplify the process for charge point operators by taking care of the infrastructure but allowing private enterprise to plug in their technology and start serving customers.

By leveraging existing electricity network assets, technical expertise and established relationships with councils and communities, the program would lower enablement costs and de-risk early investment in thin regional markets.

This approach is designed to support charge point operators to enter locations that have historically been overlooked, helping to close the gap between metropolitan and regional access to EV charging while supporting tourism, local economies and the broader energy transition.

The Plug and Play trial also includes a second stream of identifying 1000 power poles that can be enabled to more easily allow private operators to install their own charging infrastructure.

Unlike providing access to composite pole streetlights, the enablement of power poles for CPOs to install their infrastructure does not require an AER waiver.

In both cases, Essential Energy will handle the planning and liaising with local councils and other stakeholders to identify the right locations.

The ring-fencing waiver application for the composite pole streetlights is time-bound and designed to support a trial that will generate evidence that helps to shape development of the EV charging market and informs future regulatory decisions.

The application reflects a clear separation of roles: Essential Energy does not sell electricity, set charging prices or operate retail services. Instead, the waiver enables the organisation to play a limited, enabling role that improves safety, reliability and coordination while encouraging private investment where it has not occurred to date.

By focusing on infrastructure enablement, the program aims to create a sustainable pathway for market-led charging solutions to scale across regional NSW – delivering long-term benefits for customers, communities and the energy system.

Fact File

• Essential Energy builds, operates and maintains one of Australia’s largest electricity distribution networks, servicing more than 900,000 customers across regional, rural and remote communities.

• The network footprint covers 95 per cent of New South Wales and parts of southern Queensland, traversing 737,000 square kilometres of diverse landscape from the desert to the coast, across alpine to sub-tropical.

• Delivering safe and reliable electricity for our communities is at the core of what we do, while actively supporting the energy transition through enabling the connection of renewables on the network.

• Essential Energy’s footprint includes 1.4 million power poles.

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