Central-West Orana REZ Social Impact Management Plan

The Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) is the first of its kind, delivering new transmission infrastructure to connect solar, wind and energy storage projects to the NSW electricity grid.

We recognise that the construction of the transmission project will bring change for people living and working nearby. As part of the planning approval process, a detailed social impact assessment was undertaken to identify potential impacts and opportunities for local communities. 

The Social Impact Management Plan (SIM Plan) has been developed to guide how social impacts will be monitored, managed and responded to throughout construction.  

This page explains what’s in the plan and provides tools to follow progress over time. 

What is the SIM Plan? 

The SIM Plan for the Central-West Orana REZ Transmission Project outlines how EnergyCo and network operator, ACEREZ, will monitor potential impacts, respond to emerging issues, and maximise positive outcomes for the region during construction. 

It was developed in consultation with local communities, councils, Traditional Owners, government agencies and other key stakeholders, and outlines: 

• actions to avoid, reduce or manage those impacts
• how community feedback will be gathered and responded to
• how progress will be monitored and measured
• how updates will be shared so the community stays informed. 

Read the full Social Impact Management Plan - Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone 

Read the Summary Version

Focus areas

The SIM Plan groups potential social impacts into 8 key themes.

• Community – Community cohesion, local character, sense of place, safety and housing availability.
• Way of life – How construction may affect daily routines, travel, work and recreation.
• Livelihoods – Impacts on local and regional economies, and the people and businesses that rely on them.
• Accessibility – How people access essential services, infrastructure and facilities.
• Health and wellbeing – Physical and mental health, stress, public health and access to open space.
• Culture – Cultural identity, practices, stories and connections to Country for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities.
• Surroundings – Effects on the built and natural environment, including amenity and visual character.
• Decision making – People’s ability to participate in and influence decisions about the REZ and associated projects.

How we monitor and report on progress

The SIM Plan includes a monitoring and reporting framework with clear indicators and targets linked to each of the 8 key themes.  

We will: 

• track progress regularly against the indicators, which are assessed monthly, quarterly, 6-monthly or annually depending on the data type
• report results publicly each quarter through the interactive dashboard during construction
• apply improvement measures when targets are not being met
• use adaptive management to adjust our approach as new information or issues emerge
  • This means staying flexible, continuously monitoring impacts, listening to community feedback and making changes when something is not working well.
• conduct an annual community attitudes survey to understand changes in sentiment and identify where further action may be needed.
• review the effectiveness of management actions and update them as the project progresses.

The SIM Plan Monitoring Dashboard brings together data across the 8 key themes to show how EnergyCo and ACEREZ are managing social impacts during construction of the transmission project.

Visit the SIM Plan Dashboard