NSW Electricity Privatisation, Vertical Integration And The TPA

The Report of the Owen Inquiry into electricity supply in New South Wales, released on 11 September 2007¹, essentially contained three key messages:

1. New South Wales needs to prepare for increased electricity demand and so requires additional, private investment in power generation to secure generation capacity and electricity supply into the future.
2. This would be most efficiently achieved by the Government divesting itself of both its electricity retail businesses and power generation interests.
3. If the Government does not wish to sell generation, appropriately structured long-term leasing of current generation assets would be a viable alternative².