Electricity Industry Act 2004
Electricity Industry (Alternative Electricity Services) Regulations 2026
Electricity Industry Act 2004
Electricity Industry (Alternative Electricity Services) Regulations 2026
Western Australia
Electricity Industry (Alternative Electricity Services) Regulations 2026
Contents
Part 1 — Preliminary
1.Citation1
2.Commencement1
3.Terms used1
Part 2 — Alternative electricity services
Division 1 — On‑site power supply systems
Subdivision 1 — Alternative electricity service
4.OPS AES (Act s. 59C(1))4
Subdivision 2 — Registration
5.Exemption from registration (Act s. 59D(2))5
6.Application of AES code of practice (Act s. 59O(1))5
7.Conditions of registration (Act s. 59O(5))5
8.Inconsistent contractual terms are of no effect6
Subdivision 3 — Transitional provisions
9.Arrangements for OPS AES registration6
Division 2 — Single property networks
Subdivision 1 — Alternative electricity service
10.SPN AES (Act s. 59C(1) and (7))7
Subdivision 2 — Registration
11.Eligibility for registration (Act s. 59C(4))9
12.Exemption from registration (Act s. 59D(2))10
13.Exemptions for decisions about registrations for SPNs (Act s. 59F(3) and 59L(2))10
14.Application of AES code of practice (Act s. 59O(1))10
15.Conditions of registration (Act s. 59O(5))10
16.Register (Act s. 59V(5))11
17.Inconsistent contractual terms are of no effect11
Subdivision 3 — Transitional arrangements
18.Registration holders taken to comply until 31 December 202711
19.Arrangements for SPN AES registration12
Part 3 — Public consultation
20.Applications (Act s. 59L(1))13
21.AES code of practice (Act s. 59Z(1) and 59ZC)13
Part 4 — Miscellaneous
22.Application fees (Act s. 59G, 59H, 59I, 59J(3) and 59R(2))15
23.Annual fees (Act s. 59Q(1) and 59W)15
24.Use and disclosure of confidential information (Act s. 59ZH(3))16
Defined terms
Electricity Industry Act 2004
Electricity Industry (Alternative Electricity Services) Regulations 2026
Made by the Governor in Executive Council.
These regulations come into operation as follows —
(a)Part 1 (other than regulation 3) — on the day on which these regulations are published on the WA legislation website (publication day);
(b)Parts 3 and 4 — on the day after publication day;
(c)regulations 10, 14 and 18 — on 1 July 2027;
(d)the rest of the regulations — on 1 February 2027.
In these regulations —
community scheme has the meaning given in the Community Titles Act 2018 section 3(1);
licensed network means a distribution system that is operated under the authority of a distribution licence or an integrated regional licence;
nested network means a distribution system (other than a licensed network) that is —
(a)located on the same single property as a private network;
(b)supplied with electricity by a private network; and
(c)metered separately from any other distribution system on the single property; and
(d)used to supply electricity, whether directly or indirectly, to more than 1 premises for the purposes of consumption;
OPS means an on‑site power supply;
OPS AES means an alternative electricity service prescribed by regulation 4;
OPS agreement, in relation to a customer, means an agreement or contract entered into between an OPS service provider and the customer for the provision of an OPS AES to the customer;
OPS service provider means a person registered to provide an OPS AES under Part 3A of the Act;
OPS system has the meaning given in regulation 4(1);
private network means a distribution system (other than a licensed network) that is —
(a)located on a single property; and
(b)supplied with electricity directly by a licensed network; and
(c)not part of a nested network;
single property means any of the following —
(a)all adjoining land held by the same person, whether or not the land is separated by a road or railway;
(b)a single parcel of land subdivided by —
(i)a strata titles scheme; or
(ii)a community scheme;
single property network or SPN means each of the following —
(a)a private network;
(b)a nested network;
SPN AES means an alternative electricity service prescribed by regulation 10(2);
SPN agreement, in relation to a customer, means —
(a)an agreement or contract entered into between a registration holder and the customer for the provision of an SPN AES to the customer; and
(b)if the customer is a resident in a strata titles scheme or community scheme — the by-laws that apply to the customer as a resident of the scheme;
strata titles scheme has the meaning given in the Strata Titles Act 1985 section 3(1).
Part 2 — Alternative electricity services
Division 1 — On‑site power supply systems
Subdivision 1 — Alternative electricity service
(1)In this regulation —
OPS system means a system that —
(a)produces electricity; or
(b)stores electricity; or
(c)produces and stores electricity;
retail licensee has the meaning given in section 47 of the Act.
(2)The facilitation or creation of a person’s entitlement or right to consume or use some or all of the electricity from an OPS system by way of an arrangement is an alternative electricity service if —
(a)the person does not own the OPS system; and
(b)the OPS system is installed —
(i)on the land occupied by the person; or
(ii)on the same single property on which an SPN supplying electricity to the person is located;
and
(c)the arrangement sets out the terms of the consumption or use of the electricity directly from the OPS system, which may include the following —
(i)an express or implied entitlement to consume or use the electricity;
(ii)the consumption or use of the electricity under a membership scheme on payment of a membership fee or regular subscriptions;
(iii)the purchase of the electricity on a cents per kWh basis;
and
(d)the person is also supplied with electricity on the land by a retail licensee or within an SPN.
(3)For the purposes of subregulation (2)(a), a person who owns an OPS system is taken not to own the OPS system if the person has entered into an operating lease arrangement for the OPS system, being any arrangement under which the person grants another person a right to control, use or operate the OPS system for a specified period.
5.Exemption from registration (Act s. 59D(2))
A person is exempt from the requirement to be registered to provide an OPS AES in relation to an OPS system if the person —
(a)supplies electricity from the OPS system to another person under a lease agreement; and
(b)does not separately charge the other person for the consumption or use of the electricity.
6.Application of AES code of practice (Act s. 59O(1))
Parts 1, 2 and 3 of the AES code of practice apply to an OPS AES.
7.Conditions of registration (Act s. 59O(5))
It is a condition of registration to provide an OPS AES that the registration holder provide the OPS AES to a customer in accordance with an OPS agreement for the customer.
8.Inconsistent contractual terms are of no effect
(1)This regulation applies to —
(a)a contract or agreement in effect at the beginning of 1 February 2027 that provides for an OPS AES; and
(b)an OPS agreement.
(2)A term of the contract or agreement is of no effect if the term is not consistent with, or does not comply with, the following —
(a)a term or condition of the registration for the OPS AES provided under the contract or agreement;
(b)a provision of the AES code of practice that applies to an OPS AES.
Subdivision 3 — Transitional provisions
9.Arrangements for OPS AES registration
(1)This regulation applies to a person providing an OPS AES at the beginning of 1 February 2027.
(2)The person is taken to be a registration holder in relation to the OPS AES until —
(a)if the person makes an application for a grant of a registration before 1 March 2027 —
(i)the day on which the registration is granted; or
(ii)if the application is refused — notice of the refusal is given to the applicant;
or
(b)if the person does not make an application for a grant of a registration before 1 March 2027 — the beginning of 1 March 2027.
(3)While a person is taken to be a registration holder under this regulation, the person is also taken to be a member of an approved scheme if the person supplies electricity to small use customers.
Division 2 — Single property networks
Subdivision 1 — Alternative electricity service
10.SPN AES (Act s. 59C(1) and (7))
(1)In this regulation —
body corporate has the meaning given in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) section 9;
director has the meaning given in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) section 9AC;
electric vehicle has the meaning given in the Electricity Industry Exemption Order 2005 clause 19(1);
moored includes anchored and berthed;
port has the meaning given in the Port Authorities Act 1999 section 3(1);
related body corporate has the meaning given in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) section 9;
State agency has the meaning given in the Procurement Act 2020 section 5.
(2)The supply of electricity within an SPN is an alternative electricity service unless —
(a)the supply is an excluded supply; or
(b)if the supply is not charged for separately — the supply is incidental to the sale, supply or provision of other goods or services.
(3)The supply of electricity within an SPN to any of the following is an excluded supply —
(a)the supplier of electricity within an SPN and, if the supplier is a body corporate, any other person who is a related body corporate of the supplier;
(b)if the supplier is an individual — 5 or less consumers of the electricity, in addition to the supplier, but only if the supplier ordinarily resides on the same single property on which the SPN is located;
(c)if the supplier is a body corporate — 5 or less consumers of the electricity, in addition to the supplier, but only if the director of the body corporate ordinarily resides on the same single property on which the SPN is located;
(d)if the supplier is a State agency — 1 or more other State agencies;
(e)1 consumer of the electricity if the SPN —
(i)is not specified on the register in relation to a registration; and
(ii)is not a private network supplying the electricity to a nested network;
(f)a person residing on land subdivided by a strata titles scheme if —
(i)the scheme contains no more than 10 lots; and
(ii)the strata company for the scheme is the supplier; and
(iii)the land is used only for residential purposes;
(g)a vessel that is —
(i)not used as a residence; and
(ii)moored at a single property that is not a port;
(h)temporary accommodation, being accommodation occupied by the same person for a total of no more than 3 months, either continuously or from time to time, in any 12‑month period;
(i)an electric vehicle charging station available to the general public on a user-pays basis.
11.Eligibility for registration (Act s. 59C(4))
(1)In this regulation —
parent meter means a meter that measures the flow of electricity —
(a)for an SPN that is a private network — from a licensed network to the SPN; or
(b)for an SPN that is a nested network — from a private network to the SPN.
(2)A person is eligible to be granted a registration to provide an SPN AES in relation to an SPN if —
(a)the person (the account holder) purchases, or intends to purchase, electricity from a distribution system at a parent meter for the SPN; or
(b)if the person is not the account holder — the person supplies, or intends to supply, electricity within the SPN.
(3)Despite subregulation (2), only 1 registration may be granted in relation to a particular SPN.
(4)Subregulation (3) does not prevent —
(a)more than 1 registration being granted to a person in relation to a single property on which more than 1 SPN is located; or
(b)a person from holding 1 registration in relation to more than 1 SPN.
12.Exemption from registration (Act s. 59D(2))
A person who supplies electricity within an SPN is exempt from the requirement to be registered to provide an SPN AES in relation to the SPN if another person already holds a registration in relation to the SPN.
13.Exemptions for decisions about registrations for SPNs (Act s. 59F(3) and 59L(2))
(1)The Authority is not required to comply with the following when exercising a power conferred by Part 3A Division 2 or 3 of the Act in relation to an SPN —
(a)section 59F(1) of the Act;
(b)the Economic Regulation Authority Act 2003 section 26(1)(a).
(2)An SPN AES is exempt from the requirements of section 59L(1) of the Act.
14.Application of AES code of practice (Act s. 59O(1))
Parts 1, 2 and 4 of the AES code of practice apply to an SPN AES.
15.Conditions of registration (Act s. 59O(5))
(1)It is a condition of registration to provide an SPN AES that the registration holder —
(a)must not provide the SPN AES unless the address of the SPN used to provide the SPN AES is specified on the register in relation to the registration; and
(b)must provide the SPN AES to a customer in accordance with an SPN agreement for the customer; and
(c)must not unreasonably prevent, withhold or obstruct the supply of electricity within the SPN to the customer.
(2)It is a condition of registration to provide an SPN AES that the registration holder must take reasonable steps to ensure any other person who supplies electricity within the SPN also complies with the AES code of practice in relation to the supply of the electricity.
(1)The register must include the address of each SPN in relation to which a registration to provide an SPN AES is granted.
(2)The address of an SPN must only be included on the register in relation to 1 registration.
17.Inconsistent contractual terms are of no effect
(1)This regulation applies to —
(a)a contract or agreement in effect at the beginning of 1 July 2027 that provides for an SPN AES; and
(b)an SPN agreement.
(2)A term of the contract or agreement is of no effect if the term is not consistent with, or does not comply with, the following —
(a)a term or condition of the registration for the SPN AES provided under the contract or agreement;
(b)a provision of the AES code of practice that applies to an SPN AES.
Subdivision 3 — Transitional arrangements
18.Registration holders taken to comply until 31 December 2027
(1)For the purposes of section 59O(1) of the Act, a registration holder for an SPN AES is taken to comply with Part 4 Division 5 Subdivision 1 of the AES code of practice.
(2)Despite regulation 17, a term of a contract or an agreement that is not consistent with, or does not comply with, Part 4 Division 5 Subdivision 1 of the AES code of practice continues to have effect.
(3)This regulation is repealed on 1 January 2028.
19.Arrangements for SPN AES registration
(1)This regulation applies to a person providing an SPN AES at the beginning of 1 July 2027.
(2)The person is taken to be a registration holder in relation to the SPN AES until —
(a)if the person makes an application for a grant of a registration before 31 July 2027 —
(i)the day on which the registration is granted; or
(ii)if the application is refused — notice of the refusal is given to the applicant;
or
(b)if the person does not make an application for a grant of a registration before 31 July 2027 — the beginning of 31 July 2027.
(3)While a person is taken to be a registration holder under this regulation, the person is also taken to be a member of an approved scheme if the person supplies electricity to small use customers.
20.Applications (Act s. 59L(1))
(1)In this regulation —
application means an application for any of the following —
(a)the grant of a registration;
(b)the renewal of a registration;
(c)an amendment to a registration;
(d)approval to transfer a registration;
(e)approval to surrender a registration.
(2)The Authority must publish notice of an application on the Authority’s website.
(3)The notice must include the following —
(a)a statement that any person may, within the period specified by the Authority, make a submission to the Authority on the application;
(b)information on how to make a submission.
(4)The notice may relate to more than 1 application.
(5)The Authority —
(a)must, as far as is reasonably practicable, give a copy of the notice to each person the Authority considers has a material interest in the application; and
(b)must, before determining the application, consider submissions made in accordance with the notice; and
(c)may consider other submissions received.
21.AES code of practice (Act s. 59Z(1) and 59ZC)
(1)In this regulation —
Department means the department of the Public Service principally assisting in the administration of the Act.
(2)Notice of the following must be published on the Department’s website —
(a)a proposal to issue, amend or repeal and replace the AES code of practice;
(b)the carrying out of a review of the AES code of practice.
(3)The notice must include the following —
(a)a statement that any person may, within the period specified by the Department, make a submission to the Department;
(b)information on how to make a submission.
(4)The Department must, as far as is reasonably practicable, give a copy of the notice to each person the Department considers has an interest in the proposed amendment or review.
(5)The Minister must consider submissions made in accordance with the notice.
22.Application fees (Act s. 59G, 59H, 59I, 59J(3) and 59R(2))
The application fee is nil.
23.Annual fees (Act s. 59Q(1) and 59W)
(1)In this regulation —
application fee means a fee payable under the Act sections 59G(b), 59H(b), 59I(b), 59J(3)(b) or 59R(2)(b);
core function costs, for a financial year, means the costs incurred by the Authority in the financial year in connection with the performance of the Authority’s registration functions;
registration function means functions of the Authority under Part 3A of the Act.
(2)The annual fee for a registration holder to provide 1 alternative electricity service in a financial year is determined in accordance with the following formula —
where —
Cis the amount of the core function costs for the financial year;
Ris the total number of alternative electricity services for which registrations are held on 30 June in the financial year.
(3)If a registration holder does not hold a registration to provide an alternative electricity service for the whole of the financial year, the annual fee for that service is reduced by the proportion of the year during which the registration holder did not hold the registration to provide the service.
(4)The Authority must carry out reviews of —
(a)the Authority’s core function costs; and
(b)the extent to which application fees paid to the Authority are sufficient to meet those costs; and
(c)the formula set out in subregulation (2) for the calculation of the annual fee.
(5)The Authority must —
(a)carry out the first review, and give the Minister a written report based on it, before 2 February 2030; and
(b)carry out subsequent reviews, and give the Minister written reports based on them, as soon as practicable after each 3rd anniversary of the date of the first report.
24.Use and disclosure of confidential information (Act s. 59ZH(3))
(1)In this regulation —
annual report means the annual report prepared under section 59ZE of the Act;
confidential information means information or a document identified as confidential or commercially sensitive by —
(a)the Authority under subregulation (4)(a); or
(b)the person who gives the information or document to the Authority.
(2)The Authority must not disclose confidential information to a person unless the Authority is of the opinion that —
(a)the disclosure of the information would not cause detriment to any person; or
(b)the public benefit in disclosing the information outweighs the detriment caused to a person by the disclosure of the information.
(3)Subregulation (2) does not prevent the Authority —
(a)from disclosing information or the contents of a document to a staff member, the Coordinator or the Minister; or
(b)from using information or a document for the purposes of civil or criminal proceedings.
(4)The Authority —
(a)must identify information that the Authority considers is confidential information in the following —
(i)the Authority’s annual report;
(ii)information disclosed to the Coordinator;
and
(b)must not publish confidential information.
A. O’SULLIVAN, Clerk of the Executive Council
[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]
Defined termProvision(s)
account holder11(2)
annual report24(1)
application20(1)
application fee23(1)
body corporate10(1)
community scheme3
confidential information24(1)
core function costs23(1)
Department21(1)
director10(1)
electric vehicle10(1)
excluded supply10(3)
licensed network3
moored10(1)
nested network3
network3
OPS3
OPS AES3
OPS agreement3
OPS service provider3
OPS system3, 4(1)
parent meter11(1)
port10(1)
private network3
publication day2
registration function23(1)
related body corporate10(1)
retail licensee4(1)
single property3, 3
SPN3
SPN AES3
SPN agreement3
State agency10(1)
strata titles scheme3
© State of Western Australia 2026. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0). To view relevant information and for a link to a copy of the licence, visit www.legislation.wa.gov.au. Attribute work as: © State of Western Australia 2026. By Authority: ANDREW JONES, Government Printer