Electricity Act 1994

The main legislation governing Queensland's electricity industry is the Electricity Act 1994 and the Electricity Regulation 2006.

The Electricity Act and Regulation deal with:

• regulating the electricity industry and electricity use, including licensing of electricity industry participants and monitoring of licence compliance
• making and approving industry codes
• approving electricity prices for standing contract customers in regional Queensland
• assisting in settling disputes between electricity entities and between electricity entities and public entities
• administrating electricity restrictions and electricity rationing procedures.

The legislation is supported by the Electricity Distribution Network Code, which sets out rules for electricity distributors and is administered by the Queensland Competition Authority, which is also responsible for administering some matters under the Electricity Act.

The Electricity Act also allows the owner, occupier or user of premises to become an on-supplier who can supply electricity to the occupants of the premises (the receivers). The legislation contains provisions that must be followed in the on-supply of electricity to receivers.

Examples of on-suppliers are shopping centre owners, caravan park owners, owners of blocks of flats and bodies corporate associated with blocks of residential or commercial units.

Electricity – National Scheme (Queensland) Act 1997

The National Electricity (Queensland) Law, applied by the Electricity – National Scheme (Queensland) Act 1997, governs Queensland's participation in the National Electricity Market (NEM). This Act also applies the National Electricity Rules to the NEM in Queensland. The rules have the force of law and are made under the National Electricity Law.

Find the electricity law and rules on the Australian Energy Market Commission website.

National Energy Retail Law (Queensland) Act 2014

The National Energy Retail Law (Queensland) Act 2014 applies the National Energy Retail Law (Queensland) (NERL-Q), which is an energy specific consumer protection framework and commonly known as the National Energy Customer Framework (NECF).  It regulates the supply and sale of both gas and electricity to retail customers.

The retail sale of electricity and gas is authorised by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) under the National Energy Retail Law (NERL).

The NERL is a schedule to the National Energy Retail Law (South Australia) Act 2011 and is supported by regulations and the National Energy Retail Rules (NERR). The NERL-Q and the National Energy Retail Law (Queensland) Regulation 2014 include a number of derogations from the national NERL framework to ensure it is fit-for-purpose for Queensland’s needs.

Electrical Safety Act 2002

Electrical safety matters, including licensing of electrical workers and contractors, are dealt with under the:

• Electrical Safety Act 2002
• Electrical Safety Regulation 2013.

The Electrical Safety Office administers this legislation.

Energy and Water Ombudsman Act 2006

The Energy and Water Ombudsman Act 2006 was integral to the introduction of full retail competition. The main purpose of this legislation is to give small energy consumers a timely, effective, independent and just way of referring disputes about matters involving energy entities, and having the disputes investigated and resolved.

See also the Energy and Water Ombudsman Regulation 2022 and the Energy and Water Ombudsman Queensland website.

Anyone intending to operate electricity infrastructure needs an appropriate electricity authority (licence), unless the infrastructure is to be located wholly on land they own or lease.

Generators need a generation authority, and network service providers need either a transmission or distribution authority to operate in Queensland. If connected to the national grid they will also need to be registered by the Australian Energy Market Operator.

In Queensland, authorities for generation, transmission and distribution are administered by Queensland Treasury (the Regulator) under the Electricity Act 1994.

Retail authorities are administered at a national level by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER).

Types of licences

Generation authority

A generation authority allows you to connect a generating plant to a transmission grid or supply network.

Note: If you operate a generating plant with a capacity of 30 megawatts or less, you have a deemed special approval, under section 130 of the Electricity Regulation 2006, to connect the generating plant to a transmission grid or supply network. In this case, you would not need to hold a generation authority but may rely on the special approval given by regulation.

Transmission authority

A transmission authority allows you to operate a transmission grid and may also authorise you to connect the transmission grid to another transmission grid.

Distribution authority

A distribution authority allows you to supply electricity using a supply network within the distribution area stated in the authority.

Special approval

A special approval allows you to perform the activities specified in the approval, which may be any of the activities normally authorised by a generation, transmission or distribution authority.

Generally, special approvals are granted in special circumstances when a generation, transmission or distribution authority is not appropriate for the proposed activity.

For example, a special approval may allow the operator of an island resort, which is generating its own electricity and operating its own supply network within the resort, to perform those generation and distribution activities.

Forms and guidance

Applications must be made using the appropriate form.

These guidance documents provide information on when to apply for a new authority, and transferring, amending or surrendering an existing authority:

• Application for a generation authority (DOCX, 87KB)
  • Generation authority guidance (PDF, 235KB)
• Application for a transmission authority (DOCX, 86KB)
  • Transmission authority guidance (PDF, 233KB)
• Application for a distribution authority (DOCX, 86KB)
  • Distribution authority guidance (PDF, 233KB)
• Application for a special approval (DOCX, 86KB)
  • Special approval guidance (PDF, 244KB)
• Application to transfer an authority (DOCX, 82KB)

Proforma authorities and special approvals and conditions

Copies of individual authorities and special approvals are generally not published nor made available unless the holder consents. Proformas for each type of authority and special approval are available:

• Proforma generation authority (PDF, 194KB)
• Proforma transmission authority (PDF, 63KB)
• Proforma distribution authority (PDF, 54KB)
• Proforma special approval (PDF, 54KB).

Individual authorities and special approvals may contain different or additional conditions in some cases. Many of the conditions of the authorities and special approvals are set out in the Act and Regulation. Read the Electricity Act 1994 and the Electricity Regulation 2006.

Compliance

The Regulator is responsible for monitoring compliance with the conditions of authorities and special approvals, and taking disciplinary action where necessary. The disciplinary action that may be taken includes suspension, amendment or cancellation of the authority or special approval and fines.

Electricity licence fees

Licence holders are required to pay an electricity licence fee.

You can find a detailed list of fees payable to Queensland Treasury in schedule 7 of the Electricity Regulation 2006.

Contact us

For information on licensing for electricity generation, transmission and distribution contact:

Queensland Treasury
Email: energy.regulation@treasury.qld.gov.au
Phone: 13 43 87 (business hours)

For information on retail licensing, contact the Australian Energy Regulator.

Annual reports to the Regulator

All holders of electricity generation, transmission and distribution authorities and special approvals (all referred to generally as licences) are required by law to submit annual reports.

You must submit your annual report on operations for the preceding financial year to the Regulator (the Under Treasurer of Queensland Treasury) by 31 October.

The information you provide in the annual report helps the Regulator to assess your compliance with your statutory obligations and determine your continued suitability to hold a licence. It also provides information that helps the Regulator carry out its other functions under the Electricity Act 1994.

Solar Bonus Scheme reporting

The Electricity Act 1994 requires distribution entities to submit Solar Bonus Scheme data to the regulator at 6-monthly intervals. Below is the reporting template that will help authorities meet this obligation:

• Solar bonus scheme biannual report: Distributor report (PDF, 82KB)
• Solar bonus scheme biannual report: Retail report (PDF, 90KB)

Electricity distributors are required to meet minimum service standards and report their quarterly and annual performance against these standards. These obligations are included in the distribution authorities issued by the Regulator to the electricity distributor under the Electricity Act 1994.

There are currently 2 Queensland distribution entities:

• Energex Limited (Energex) in South East Queensland
• Ergon Energy Corporation Limited (Ergon Energy) in regional Queensland.

Read the distribution authorities of Energex and Ergon Energy.

The annual minimum service standards performance results for Energex and Ergon Energy are published in Energy Queensland’s annual reports.

Minimum service standards

The minimum service standards set limits, for each financial year, on the frequency and duration of interruptions to Queensland’s distribution network.

An interruption includes any temporary loss of electricity supply to a customer caused by a problem in the electricity network but excludes the impacts of certain events (such as severe weather events).

Energex and Ergon Energy's minimum service standards limits are specified in their respective distribution authorities. They must aim to achieve a higher level of performance than the set limits.

Reliability performance measures

Reliability performance is expressed using the following measures:

• System average interruption duration index (SAIDI) is the sum of the duration of each interruption (measured in minutes), divided by the total number of customers (averaged over the financial year).
• System average interruption frequency index (SAIFI) is the total number of interruptions, divided by the total number of customers (averaged over the financial year).

These measures are based on the broad feeder categories of CBD, urban, short rural and long rural feeders. The minimum service standards limits differ between feeder categories, reflecting the performance that should reasonably be achieved for each category. The tables below identify the current SAIDI and SAIFI limits which apply to Energex and Ergon Energy.

SAIDI limits (minutes per customer)

SAIFI limits (interruptions per customer)