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I’m often asked about electricity distribution networks — the poles and wires on our streets — which get our power the last step of the journey, from large power stations and batteries, to our households and businesses.
Once upon a time, electricity only flowed in one direction, and our rules reflected that simple reality. Today, you need only look at your neighbours’ rooftops to realise that times have changed.
Over one third of Australians have a small power station atop their home, and an increasing amount of electricity is generated within the distribution network. But the rules for collecting data and planning these networks have not kept pace.
There’s enormous value in requiring networks to use the wealth of smart meter data being made available to proactively plan their network in greater detail. Consumer energy resources, solar panels, batteries, and the like, tend to be the cheapest form of electricity, and reduce how many poles we need to build. But installers don’t have the data to know where they should go to provide the most value.
Dr Kerry Schott put it perfectly back in 2020: “We now have more data than ever, but it isn’t being fully utilised and shared in a way that benefits consumers or provides the information necessary to inform investment in Australia’s energy future.” Five years later, this remains as true as ever — and frankly, that should concern us.
We’ve made a rule change request that taps directly into this opportunity, using data to bring about the energy transition at the least cost to the consumers, who ultimately pay for the networks through their bills and deserve fair value for their investment. The Australian Energy Market Commission has begun consultation on this, and we're working alongside other stakeholders with a simple goal: getting this right for all Australian electricity users.
Fundamentally, the ability for people to benefit from a smarter, more efficient network is utterly contingent on everyone having access to the information that makes smart decisions possible.
I’d urge you to engage with this process. After all, these decisions will shape how electricity flows through our neighbourhoods for decades to come.
