A MASSIVE $20 billion will be spent on infrastructure projects in NSW as the historic lease of electricity poles and wires passed the upper house last night.

The lease, 18 years in the making, was the focus of the 2015 election campaign that returned Mike Baird as Premier — and was secured after negotiations with key crossbencher Fred Nile.

“I am delighted that, a few minutes ago, the Legislative Council passed the bills to enable a 99-year lease of 49 per cent of the ‘poles and wires’,” Mr Baird said in a statement last night after watching the vote in the upper house.

“I am proud of the NSW Liberals & Nationals. I am proud of the Parliament. But, above all, I am proud of the people of NSW. They stared down the most vicious scare campaign in living memory and chose a path that will make the lives of future generations more convenient, enjoyable and productive.”

Transactions for the lease could start within a month, with the first projects funded with the windfall to be the $7 billion Sydney Rapid Transit line including a second harbour crossing, the $2.4 billion upgrades to urban roads and $4.1 billion for regional transport.

Rev Nile and Mr Baird negotiated a deal to secure the passage of the legislation, with Mr Baird convincing Rev Nile to kill off a promise to give power workers a bonus payment for keeping their jobs with the new private operator.

Mr Baird threw his support behind Rev Nile’s plan to give workers five year job guarantees, and to allow them to keep the leave entitlements and superannuation accrued while working for the state- run networks.

media_camera Premier Mike Baird and Transport Minister Andrew Constance make an announcement about Sydney Rapid Transit in April.

The guarantees would apply to about 6,670 electricity workers — but not to the 2,750 jobs expected to be shed as a result of the Australian Energy Regulators decision to cut power prices by five to 12 per cent.

Networks NSW, with the backing of the government, is currently appealing the decision.

Rev Nile’s decision to axe the “transfer payments” for power employees moving to the private operator came after the Premier told him it would cost $300 million.

Rev Nile originally promised the payment on Tuesday, in his report of the inquiry into the power sale.

The historic legislation allowing the lease would pave the way for a predicted $13 billion in payments from the 100 per cent lease of Transgrid, 50.4 per cent of Ausgrid and 50.4 per cent of Endeavour Energy.

Mr Baird promised that a total of at least $20 billion would be spent on infrastructure after the transaction is complete, with the $13 billion lease price topped up by an added $2 billion from the federal government and $5 billion in interest payments.

The plan to privatise electricity was first proposed by former Labor Premier Bob Carr in 1997. Former Labor Premier Morris Iemma then tried to privatise the electricity generators in 2008 — a decision that ultimately led to the end of Mr Iemma’s leadership of the NSW ALP.

Mr Carr, former Labor Treasurer Michael Egan and former federal Labor minister Martin Ferguson all urged Opposition leader Luke Foley to back the lease during the election campaign, to no avail.

Reverend Nile released a report on Tuesday after completing an inquiry into the historic lease.

Within it he said the sale was in the best economic interest of the state, but recommended that a contentious Deloitte Access Economics report be peer reviewed to assess the claim the electricity lease would boost the NSW economy by $300 billion.

Government Upper House Leader Duncan Gay told parliament yesterday that he believed in the $300 billion figure and would not oppose a review into the Deloitte report.

Reverend Nile said the review could be completed after the bill passed the upper house, but before the law is enacted.

“We believe in our major recommendation that the economic benefits of the leasing of the poles and wires justifies our committee endorsing that proposal,” Reverend Nile said.

“As I said, I want everyone to be happy after we vote on the legislation.”

Reverend Nile also got an agreement for a review into the powers of the electricity price commissioner within a year of the transaction — to ensure power bills were going down.

He and Mr Baird also agreed on an amendment to ensure “sufficient numbers” of apprenticeships are offered each year by the new operators.