A breakdown of the 2026–27 contribution determination and how rising network and scheme charges are flowing through to NSW electricity bills.
On 11 February 2026, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) released its contribution determination for cost recovery under the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap for the 2026–27 financial year, in accordance with the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act 2020.
These annual costs are passed through by the three NSW distribution network service providers (DNSPs) to NSW consumers as part of the network component of electricity bills.
The total contribution determination for 2026–27 is $593.16 million.
The amounts required to be paid by each NSW distribution network service provider (DNSP) are:
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Ausgrid: $254.23m
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Endeavour Energy: $221.40m
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Essential Energy: $117.53m
These contributions have increased significantly over recent years. And for many customers, these scheme-related costs are becoming a more noticeable driver of network charges.
For context: between FY25 and FY26, flat tariffs for small business customers increased by:
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Ausgrid: 9.6%
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Endeavour Energy: 9.5%
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Essential Energy: 7.9%
Notably, almost half of this increase was driven by additional transmission and jurisdictional scheme costs — including NSW Roadmap costs.
If you would like to understand what this means for your organisation’s electricity costs, please reach out to the Edge2020 team.
