Conference Day - 5 November

09:30
Opening remarks from the Chair
Maximising value from ISP reform – economic impacts
09:35
Managing eastern Australia’s power system through the fastest transformational change in the world
  • Introduction to the 2020 Integrated System Plan (objective, consultation, scenarios, inputs and assumptions, actionable ISP)
  • Forecast changes in the National Electricity Market to 20240 (decentralisation, decarbonisation and consumer participation)
  • Projects to augment the transmission grid and complementary renewable energy zones
  • Updated power system services needed to transform a system that has been dominated by traditional thermal generation
  • Benefits of the ISP and essential complementary regulatory reform

Nicola Falcon
Group Manager, Forecasting
Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO)

10:00
Realistically assessing the actual cost of the 2020 ISP and implications for energy users
  • Impact of suggested project costs increases and who ends up bearing these
  • Assessing the accuracy of proposed scenarios and the outcomes they will produce
  • Forecasting the long term consequences of electrification for the total energy system
  • Analysing cost allocations – will some participants bear more than their fair share?

Danny Price
Founder and Managing Director
Frontier Economics (Australia)

10:25
Delivering low cost, reliable and clean energy: a progress report on Marinus Link

Further interconnection can harness Tasmanian and Victorian potential to deliver clean, affordable, reliable and secure power into Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM). Project Marinus is currently in the Design and Approvals stage working towards a ‘shovel ready’ Marinus Link by 2024.

Bess Clark
General Manager Project Marinus 
TasNetworks

10:40
PANEL DISCUSSION: What standards of reliability are reasonable for the ISP?
  • What exactly constitutes over-investment the network?
  • What can be done to mitigate risks of future planning?
  • What if we get it wrong? Asset write down in the case of overbuilding
  • What reforms are needed to best integrate DER at the lowest cost?
  • Is the RIT-T fit for purpose and what are the alternatives?

Moderator:

Simon Kennedy
Partner
McKinsey & Company

Panellists:

Benn Barr
Chief Executive Officer
Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC)

Nicola Falcon
Group Manager, Forecasting
Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO)

Ben Skinner
General Manager Policy & Research
Australian Energy Council

Andrew Kingsmill
Head of Network Planning
TransGrid

Guy Chalkley
Chief Executive Officer
Endeavour Energy

11:25
Take a break and connect with other attendees
Physical infrastructure that will support the ISP
11:55
Renewable Energy Zones (REZs) as the new centres of generation for the NEM
  • Coordinating generation and transmission
  • Overcoming network constraints through bespoke access arrangements
  • Coupling renewable energy with low-cost firming resources to add capacity

Chloe Hicks
Director, Energy Infrastructure and Zones
NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment

12:20
PANEL DISCUSSION: Who pays for reliability, investor confidence, and a cleaner, cheaper energy supply?
  • How should transmission costs be distributed to ensure that the ISP’s transmission infrastructure is viable?
  • Should renewable energy generators share the burden of their transmission needs?
  • Addressing Renewable Investment Test – Transmission (RIT-T) requirements
  • Can future stakeholders and investors be confident about cost sharing arrangements?
  • Does the ISP need to be more prescriptive to provide certainty, or more flexible to allow for unknowns (eg sudden changes in DER or storage technology)?

Moderator:

Mark Tilly
Journalist
Energy News Bulletin

Panellists:

Danny Price
Founder and Managing Director
Frontier Economics (Australia)

Sarah McNamara
Chief Executive Officer
Australian Energy Council

Andrew Richards
Chief Executive Officer
Energy Users Association of Australia

Andrew Dillon
Chief Executive Officer
Energy Networks Australia

Scott Ryan
General Manager, Operations 
Endeavour Energy

 

13:05
Reconfiguring and expanding transmission - how Project EnergyConnect, (South Australia to NSW) will support stable energy supply

Project EnergyConnect is a new 330kV double-circuit interconnector between South Australia and New South Wales, expected to be complete 2024-25.

  • Resolving the difficulties of inflexible generators and DER issues with an large scale / long distance interconnector
  • Long term role of existing gas-fired plants
  • Delivering the project at the lowest possible cost with the greatest benefit to energy consumers

Andrew Kingsmill
Head of Network Planning
TransGrid

13:30
Closing remarks from the Chair
13:35
Close of conference