On 20 January 1999, NECA granted the Cairns Port Authority an exemption from the requirement to register as a network service provider and the operation of Chapter 5 of the National Electricity Code. The exemption was granted under clause 2.5.1 of the National Electricity Code in accordance with NECA's NSP Registration Exemption Guidelines, and is subject to the following conditions:
- energy prices must be negotiated under normal commercial arrangements or be the same as the relevant tariff for that class of customer
- customers must be able to resort to normal dispute mechanisms for network charges, where franchise pricing is not applied
- the network must be maintained to the standard specified in the connection arrangements with the local distributor
- the Cairns Port Authority must remain exempt from the requirement to have an operators licence for the two networks