As we progress towards the end of the calendar year, Energy Consumers Australia would like to formally update our valued stakeholders about the arrangements for our flagship event, the Foresighting Forum, for 2021 and 2022.
Since our inception, our annual Foresighting Forum has brought together consumer advocates and representatives from governments, market bodies, and industry to explore how the energy sector can ensure that the interests of Australian households and small businesses are at the centre of decision making.
Given the uncertainty due to COVID-19 and its effects that are likely to impact 2021, our Foresighting Forum 2021 will now take the form of a series of digital forums to be held throughout the 2021 calendar year. The digital forums will ensure that we continue strong engagement across a range of important work-streams, including discussions that have a jurisdictional focus. Full details and dates of the digital forums will be announced in the coming months.
At the same time, we are hopeful that we will be able to meet in person, in Sydney for Foresighting Forum (15-17 February) 2022. We want to use digital forums next year to build towards this event, using the next 18 months to dig into the experience of consumers weathering a crisis, and learn the lessons about how we design systems that can deliver cheap, clean and abundant energy. We will also invite international leaders and experts to share their learnings.
We are looking to keep the ball rolling from this year’s Forum which was about consumer expectations for the future. It was held literally weeks before COVID-19 turned the world upside down, forcing everyone to focus on immediate needs and solutions. The Foresighting opportunity we want to grasp is what 2020 tells us about what is not just possible now but also over the longer-term? How can we work together to overcome (and in some cases work around) barriers to better outcomes? And ultimately, what is now clear about the energy system architectures, the markets and supporting structures that will deliver the services and opportunities households and businesses need to recover and prosper?
More detailed information about the theme and other details of Foresighting Forum 2022 will be developed and announced throughout the coming year.
If there are questions or you have information to share with us, feel free to email us and a member of our leadership team will get back to you. More information about the Foresighting Forum can be found here.
Foresighting Forum 2021
Digital forum series
To be held throughout 2021
Foresighting Forum 2022
Stage event
15 – 17 February 2022
Sydney, Venue TBC