(29/5/2026)
The Central Highlands Renewable Energy Zone (our area) has been finalized as part of the 2025 Victorian Transmission Plan. Details are here.

VicGrid has started planning for the next Victorian Transmission Plan by releasing the draft 2026 Victorian Transmission Plan Guidelines. This document will guide the development of the 2027 Victorian Transmission Plan, which will take a 25-year view of the state’s transmission and renewable energy generation needs. 
You can contribute to the Plan by making a submission here. by 26 June 2026.

REZ - Access Regime            23/9/2025
Click here for an overview of the planned Access Regime. 
In it are links to download the details.
 A brief summary is below.

The Victorian Government is setting new rules for how renewable energy developers engage with and create social value and economic benefits for communities, Traditional Owners and landholders. We’ve released new draft Community Engagement and Social Value Guidelines to provide clear guidance and set a high standard of engagement. 
This is part of a new approach to manage how projects gain access to the state’s transmission network. The new arrangements, known as the Victorian Access Regime, aim to encourage development in renewable energy zones and increase transparency about what projects must do to gain access.
We’re inviting feedback from landholders, Traditional Owners, communities and industry. To read the guidelines and provide feedback, visit engage.vic.gov.au/victorian-access-regime

What's in the guidelinesThe draft guidelines include 48 expectations that project developers will need to meet as a minimum.  

The new expectations seek to address issues and concerns that have been raised about past experiences. Some of the expectations include: 

• new guidance on decommissioning and remediation responsibilities 

• preventing contractual clauses from unfairly restricting landholders from discussing agreement terms with other community members 

• the need to respond to concerns and risks raised by nearby neighbours during project design and development 

• the need to consult with landholders and neighbours on insurance matters, and provide transparent information on perceived or potential implications and risks. 

Once finalised, VicGrid will enforce the guidelines through the Victorian Access Regime and the procurement processes for transmission projects.  

In addition to inviting feedback on the draft guidelines, we’re consulting on 2 documents that set out details of the new access arrangements:  

• The Access and Connections Consultation Paper, which gives an overview of how access will be managed inside and outside renewable energy zones, including transitional arrangements for projects under development 

• Draft Grid Impact Assessment Guidelines, which set out details of the assessment that will apply to projects outside renewable energy zones. 

Community webinar  We are hosting a webinar and Q&A session to provide an overview of the new access rules and what’s in the draft Community Engagement and Social Value Guidelines. 

When: Wednesday 1 October, 6:30 pm to 8 pm 

Register for the webinar to find out more and have your questions answered. 

How to provide feedback 
We are inviting feedback via submissions. To take part: 

• upload a submission via Engage Victoria at engage.vic.gov.au/victorian-access-regime 

• email a submission to vicgrid@deeca.vic.gov.au 

• send a written submission to VicGrid, PO Box 500, East Melbourne VIC 8002. 

To learn more, read the draft Community Engagement and Social Value Guidelines and other consultation documents on the Engage Victoria project page: engage.vic.gov.au/victorian-access-regime

Submissions close at 11:59pm (AEDT) on 5 November 2025. 
 
Keep in touch
To stay up to date about all VicGrid’s work, subscribe or update your preferences for email news: VicGrid email updates

If you have any questions or want to discuss further with our team, please email vicgrid@deeca.vic.gov.au. 

Kind regards,

The VicGrid Team

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Renewable Energy Zones - Planning

The final 2025 Victorian Transmission Plan is published below.
Copy the link to download it.  https://www.energy.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/761023/2025-Victorian-Transmission-Plan.pdf
Pages of interest are: P.16: Fig 1 - map of the renewable energy zones, and power lines.
p71:Our Central Highlands renewable energy zone map, with our local landscape constraints.
p.60: Sources of Victorian power over time. (coal, wind, solar, battery, rooftop solar....)
It seems that the only effect on us is that there may be room for more wind and solar farms.