The NEM Future Forum - Friday 19 September
08:30 Registration and welcome coffee
08:50 Opening address from the Chair:
Keith Orchison, Director, Coolibah Pty Ltd
ANALYSING THE CURRENT ELECTRICITY MARKET TRANSFORMATION
09:00 Understanding and adapting to the evolving energy market
- Where is the market now and where is it going?
- Coping with the move to a ‘two way’ energy market
- The communications challenge – how to better engage consumers
- Peak demand: what can we achieve this decade?
John Pierce, Chairman, Australian Energy Market Commission
09:30 Victoria continuing to lead energy reforms towards a smarter, more efficient market
- The important role of smart meters in national energy reforms
- Profound energy market transformation and Victoria's role in creating a smarter, more efficient market
- Opportunities for greater cost reflectivity and reducing cross subsidies between consumers and delivering clearer price signals
- Challenges for network regulation in a dynamic and changing environment
10:00 Building better policy for the new NEM
- What is the new customer paradigm?
- The way forward for the NEM – the policy changes that we need
- Better informing and engaging end users and why it is so critical to improve outcomes
Tony Wood, Energy Program Director, Grattan Institute
10:30 Morning tea
11:00 Transitioning from a centralised to a decentralised market
- Highlighting the advantages of a decentralised energy market
- Examining the technologies that are driving this change
- How households will engage in the grid going forward
Kane Thornton, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Clean Energy Council
BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES ARISING FROM THE GROWTH OF DISTRIBUTED GENERATION
11:30 What cost reflective pricing will mean for networks
- Pricing strategy to ensure efficient outcomes for customers and networks
- Understanding the mechanics and implications of cost reflective pricing
- How will this reduce network CAPEX?
Hugh Gleeson, Chief Executive Officer, United Energy and Multinet Gas
12:00 PANEL DISCUSSION:
Integrating solar PV and networks
- The ongoing take-up of Solar PV by switched on consumers and why the networks are concerned
- Should there be a subsidy at all – and who should fit the bill?
- Examining the interplay of PV’s and air-conditioning
Moderator:
Keith Orchison, Director, Coolibah Pty Ltd
Panellists:
Kane Thornton, Acting Chief Executive Officer, Clean Energy Council
Charles Popple, Executive Advisor – Industry Development, AusNet Services
Ivor Frischknecht, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA)
12:40 Networking lunch
13:40 Analysing current policy challenges in the NEM
- Outlining why current renewable policy is intractable
- Highlighting core issues to overcome including barriers to exit
- Why complementary policy is required to create sustainable investment
Cameron Reid, Manager Carbon & Renewable Policy, AGL Energy
IMPLEMENTING EFFECTIVE METERING AND TARIFF SYSTEMS TO ACHIEVE A MORE EFFECTIVE MARKET
14:10 The critical need for smart metering in the NEM
- Outlining the key challenges previously faced in introducing smart meters
- Identifying best practice for integrating smart meters going forward
- Why smart meters are critical for an efficient energy market
Charles Popple, Executive Advisor – Industry Development, AusNet Services
14:40 PANEL DISCUSSION:
Building consumer awareness, education and engagement in east
coast energy markets
- What do consumers want and what do they need when it comes to their energy supply
- Who should bear the burden of alleviating customer hardship?
- Overcoming the complexity problem – how can contracts be made simple and non-threatening?
Moderator:
Keith Orchison, Director, Coolibah Pty Ltd
Panellists:
Clare Petre, Ombudsman, NSW Energy and Water Ombudsman
Denise Boyd, Director Policy and Campaigns, Consumer Action Law
Gavin Dufty, Policy Director, St Vincent De Paul
15:20 Afternoon tea
THE TECHNOLOGIES THAT WILL DRIVE FURTHER CHANGE IN THE NEM
15:50 PANEL DISCUSSION:
Opportunities for further energy productivity and efficiency across the
NEM
- How might Direct Action encourage further industrial energy productivity?
- Residential energy efficiency – where can further efficiency gains be made and how will this impact residential demand profiles?
- What impact could smart appliances have in relation to energy productivity?
- How will this impact the NEM?
Moderator:
Keith Orchison, Director, Coolibah Pty Ltd
Panellists:
Paul Graham, Chief Economist Energy Flagship, CSIRO
Alistair Sproul, Program Leader, CRC for Low Carbon Living
Chris Dunstan, Chief Executive Officer, Alliance to Save Energy (a2se)
16:30 The CSIRO’s Energy flagship and future grid research program
- Uncertainties and drivers for changing the grid
- The goals and objectives of the research programs
- Emerging technologies and how they can transform the NEM
Paul Graham, Chief Economist Energy Flagship, CSIRO
17:00 Closing remarks from the Chair
17:30 Close of conference