WSROC has played a leading role in two crucial Local Government Workshops that will help shape the services that electricity distribution network provider Endeavour Energy will offer its customers in the 2024 - 2029 period

Endeavour Energy owns, maintains, and operates the electrical distribution network supplying 2.4 million people in households and businesses across Sydney's Greater West, Blue Mountains, Southern Highlands the Illawarra, and the South Coast.

Every five years energy distribution companies like Endeavour Energy engage with stakeholders to develop a Revenue Proposal that outlines the services they will provide its customers over the five-year period, the investments needed to deliver those services, the cost of those services and the distribution network tariffs that will be offered to customers via retailers.

The Revenue Proposal is reviewed by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) which considers whether the proposal is prudent, efficient and in the best long-term interests of customers.

Endeavour Energy hosted two forums for local government in their franchise area; an online workshop for Illawarra, Southern Highlands, and South Coast councils on the 25 May, and an in-person workshop for Greater Western Sydney councils held at Penrith Panthers on 2 June.

The workshops discussed key issues for local government service including:

• Councils’ views broadly on what Endeavour Energy is doing well and where they could improve their service to local government
• Streetlighting, including LED streetlighting upgrades, smart nodes, and tariffs
• Vegetation management topics such as network safety, issue management and public amenity
• Sustainability initiatives including a discussion on council expectations regarding electric vehicle charging and community batteries

WSROC is a member of Endeavour Energy’s Peak Customer & Stakeholder Committee, Future Grid Reference Group, and Regulatory Reference Group.

“The Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) has an active voice on our peak stakeholder committees, and we very much appreciate their feedback and direction regarding the priorities for local councils – both for our business-as-usual operations and our regulatory engagement,” said Scott Ryan, Endeavour Energy’s Chief Asset and Operating Officer.

Since 2014, WSROC has partnered with Endeavour Energy and participating councils in a range of ground-breaking initiatives which have provided regional energy cost savings of $24 million to date and achieved emissions reductions of 338,134 tonnes of CO2e — equivalent to taking 460,000 cars off the road.

The ‘Light Years Ahead’ project will see an additional 60,000 streetlights changed to LEDs in the coming two years, saving an additional estimated $5 million in annual regional energy costs and 20,000 tonnes of CO2e.

In addition, the largest smart and LED streetlighting upgrade project in NSW currently being implemented in Parramatta.

WSROC advocacy to Endeavour Energy, the Australian Energy Regulator and the NSW Government has resulted in reduced maintenance cost for LED streetlights, contributed to the public lighting code review which led to a new and mandatory code including minimum service levels for street lighting and informed the NSW Government’s $12 million LED streetlight replacement scheme.