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An Australian regulator blocked a A$1.5 billion ($1.34 billion) deal by New South Wales to sell a power company on competition concerns, dealing a blow to the state's plans for a series of asset disposals this year to fund new road and rail projects.

In a widely expected ruling, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said the state government’s plan to sell Macquarie Generation to AGL Energy Ltd would have stifled competition.

The New South Wales government said the sale “will not proceed in its current form”.

Sticking to the state’s previous stance that the company will only be sold for more than its book value, New South Wales treasurer Mike Baird said in a statement: “We are not involved in a desperate fire-sale.”