Analysis

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Beyond the Rules: Lessons from the UK on Supporting Energy Consumers Experiencing Vulnerability

Customer vulnerability in the energy sector rarely follows a predictable path, often emerging through financial pressure, illness or sudden life disruption. The United Kingdom’s experience shows that early intervention, flexible support, trusted communication and coordinated care can significantly improve outcomes for households at risk. We explore what Australia can learn from the UK’s evolving approach to supporting customers experiencing vulnerability.

BY Georgina Dickson May 14 2026

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Global oil shock, but local calm - how the NEM is holding steady

Whilst Australia is lucky to be located well away from the horrors of the war in Iran, we are witnessing some economic impact with higher petrol and diesel prices. However, can there be impacts on the electricity market as well? In short, yes, but at this stage these impacts are minimal. We take a look at how the oil price could impact the electricity market and what the market has observed so far. Read more.

BY Matthew Kaspura May 07 2026

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Conference 2026: Energy2050 - Mapping the Way Forward

The inaugural Australian Energy Council Conference 2026 is the AEC's flagship national event which will bring together senior leaders from across Australia’s energy landscape to explore the future of the energy system.

BY Australian Energy Council May 06 2026

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Network Tariff Reform: From Cost Recovery to Coordination in a High-CER System

Network tariff reform has shifted from a technical pricing issue to a central challenge for Australia’s future energy system, shaping affordability, market design and the transition to a customer-centric grid. Recent modelling by the Australian Energy Market Commission provides a timely and valuable contribution to this debate, with one of the most consequential ideas in its Pricing Review reform package being Recommendation 6—proposing that networks develop tariffs for retailers, rather than directly for end-use customers. We take a closer look at the implications.

BY Jo De Silva Apr 30 2026

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Wild Cards: Could these technologies advance the energy transition?

In December 2022, scientists at the National Ignition Facility achieved a landmark nuclear fusion result: a reaction that produced more energy than the laser pulse used to start it. It made headlines globally, but the caveats came quickly. Overall system energy use was still far higher, and commercial viability remains decades away. It was a real breakthrough, but also a reminder of how far the engineering still has to go. That gap between scientific progress and commercial reality is a defining feature of the energy transition today. While solar, wind, and batteries are scaling rapidly and doing most of the heavy lifting, the International Energy Agency estimates that nearly half of the emissions reductions needed for net zero will depend on technologies still at demonstration stage or earlier. This raises the key question: which “wild card” technologies could help close that gap?We take a look.

BY Tom Monaghan Apr 23 2026

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Where’s the energy for new gas generation?

The importance of gas-powered generation (GPG) to our energy system is well recognised, with system planners and market operators often seeing it as an essential “last line of defence.” The role of gas generation has been further highlighted by two recent papers: the Australian Energy Council’s Energy2050 Vision for the Future Energy System and the policy paper “Are gas turbines ‘bankable’ in energy-only markets?” published by Griffith and Cambridge Universities. Despite this clear and ongoing need, investment in new gas-fired generation remains limited, raising important questions about market settings, policy signals and the future role of dispatchable capacity in a transitioning grid — we take a look.

BY Carl Kitchen Apr 16 2026

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Addressing Energy Affordability Needs More Than Short-Term Relief

The conflict in the Middle East has continued to highlight the challenges we face in ensuring energy supply remains accessible and affordable for everyone. Ensuring Australia becomes more resilient to international energy price shocks will dominate the energy policy landscape for some time, and rightfully so. But while political debate often gravitates toward regulatory interventions and subsidies that deliver short term household bill relief, the real solution lies in something far more complex: reshaping how the energy system works for consumers. What’s increasingly clear is that energy affordability is not just about price - it’s about design. That is why the AEC is releasing its Affordability Action Agenda today – an 8-point plan of critical actions that industry and governments need to take to ensure that energy remains accessible and affordable for all Australians. Read more.

BY Louisa Kinnear Apr 09 2026

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Energy2050: Building the ‘Light on the Hill’ for Australia’s Net-Zero Future

Today, we are pleased to publish an important report for the Australian Energy Council and the energy industry. Energy2050 is intended to be a vision statement, providing a practical illustration of what it will take to deliver a net zero energy system while balancing affordability, reliability and sustainability. Read more.

BY David Feeney Apr 02 2026

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Australia’s Home Battery Surge: A Question of Equity

Australia is a global leader in rooftop solar, with more than 4.3 million households and small businesses installing photovoltaic (PV) systems as of February 2026. Battery uptake has also accelerated, particularly since the introduction of the Cheaper Home Batteries Program in July 2025, which offers around a 30 per cent upfront discount for systems between 5 kWh and 100 kWh. More than 236,000 batteries had been installed by February 2026, although this likely understates the true figure due to reporting lags; the Federal Government has since indicated installations have surpassed 250,000 as of March 2026. Despite this rapid growth, an important question remains: who is actually benefiting from these subsidies?

BY Carol Tran Mar 25 2026

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Clarity and understanding key ingredients for successful transition

The energy system is complex and decarbonising the grid adds further complexity. It requires significant new investment to ensure coal plants can exit without having an impact on the reliability of the grid. It comes with unavoidable costs and will take time to get right. It is increasingly important given this context that the energy transition is well understood. Selective framing of data to apportion blame works against a broad understanding and has the potential to undermine customer confidence and support for the transition. Read more.

BY Australian Energy Council Mar 05 2026

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Beyond the “loyalty penalty”: unlocking CER value is the real pathway to a services market

The Australian Energy Market Commission pricing review has sparked debate about fairness and competition, with the AEC cautioning against treating price differentials as the core problem. Recent evidence from the ACCC suggests competition and recent reforms are improving customer outcomes with the AEC arguing that a true shift to a services-based market will depend on unlocking and fairly sharing CER value, not weakening the competitive dynamics that drive innovation. We outline our position on the review. Read more.

BY Jo De Silva Feb 19 2026

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Joint AEC-CEC rule change to enhance system security frameworks

As the National Electricity Market accelerates its transition to higher levels of renewable energy, maintaining system security has become a critical challenge. In response, the Australian Energy Council and Clean Energy Council have lodged a joint rule change request to strengthen planning, governance and procurement frameworks for essential system services. The proposal aims to support an orderly transition while ensuring the grid remains secure and investable. Read more.

BY Matthew Kaspura Feb 12 2026

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Integrated System Plan – What Should We Expect?

The release of an expert study of last year’s autumn wind drought in Australia by consultancy Global Power Energy[i] this week raised some questions about the approach used by the Australian Energy Market Operator’s in its 2024 Integrated System Plan (ISP). The ISP has been subject to debate before. For example, there has previously been criticism that some of the ISP’s modelling assumes what amounts to “perfect foresight” of wind and solar output and demand[ii], rather than a series of inputs and assumptions. The ISP is produced every two years and with the draft of the next ISP (2026) due for release soon, it is useful to consider what it is and what it is not, along with what the ISP seeks to do.

BY Australian Energy Council Dec 04 2025

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Getting it right: How to make the “Solar Sharer” work for everyone

On paper, the government’s proposed "Solar Sharer Offer" (SSO) sounds like the kind of policy win that everyone should cheer for. The pitch is delightful: Australia has too much solar power in the middle of the day; the grid is literally overflowing with sunshine: let’s give households free energy during 11am and 2pm. But as the economist Milton Friedman famously warned, "There is no such thing as a free lunch." Here is a no-nonsense guide to making the SSO work.

BY Georgina Dickson Nov 27 2025

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Energy Affordability: Will Solar Sharer reduce energy costs?

Energy affordability has been a hot topic for the last few months. Whilst the first term of the Albanese Government could be characterised as being focused on shifting the narrative on renewables development, it seems likely that its second term will need to consider how to deal with affordability, for both households and businesses. So what is the likely direction of travel for energy prices in the medium term, and is there anything industry and consumers can do to minimise the impacts? And can measures like the announced Solar Sharer help?

BY Ben Barnes Nov 13 2025

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Exploring consumer duty in energy: Opportunity, challenge, and pathways forward

Across regulated sectors, a new idea is gaining traction: a consumer duty requiring businesses to act in the best interests of their customers. In financial services, it has already reshaped how products are designed, marketed, and supported. While energy retailers don’t yet operate under such a framework, its potential adoption raises important questions about the role of retailers, the nature of regulation, and how to deliver better consumer outcomes. This article explores how such a framework might operate in the energy sector, its opportunities and risks, and the conditions needed for it to deliver real benefits, while offering ideas to inform the Australian Energy Council’s developing position.

BY Jo De Silva Oct 23 2025

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The ‘f’ word that’s critical to ensuring a successful global energy transition

You might not be aware but there’s a new ‘f’ word being floated in the energy industry. Ok, maybe it’s not that new, but it is becoming increasingly important as the world transitions to a low emissions energy system. That word is flexibility. The concept of flexibility came up time and time again at the recent International Electricity Summit held in in Sendai, Japan, which considered how the energy transition is being navigated globally. Read more

BY Louisa Kinnear Oct 16 2025

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Unlocking the Value of CER: The Role of Retailers in Coordination

Consumer Energy Resources (CER) are becoming a defining feature of Australia’s energy system. With more than 4 million households now hosting solar panels and more than 60,000 batteries installed since July 2025 , CER has moved from niche adoption to mainstream participation. This surge of household investment creates both opportunities and challenges. The key to realising the promise of CER lies in retailer-led coordination. Here we explore how retailers are leading the coordination of CER, the frameworks needed to support their role, and the reforms required to unlock the full benefits.

BY Jo De Silva Oct 09 2025

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Nuclear Fusion Deals – Based on reality or a dream?

Last week, Italian energy company ENI announced a $1 billion (USD) purchase of electricity from U.S.-based Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), described as the world’s leading commercial fusion energy company and backed by Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures. CFS plans to start building its Arc facility in 2027–28, targeting electricity supply to the grid in the early 2030s. Earlier this year, Google also signed a commercial agreement with CFS. These are considered the world’s first commercial fusion-power deals. While they offer optimism for fusion as a clean, abundant energy source, they also recall decades of “breakthrough” announcements that have yet to deliver practical, grid-ready power. The key question remains: how close is fusion to being not only proven, but scalable and commercially viable, and which projects worldwide are shaping its future?

BY Tom Monaghan Oct 02 2025

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Affordability Through Simplicity: Why regulatory harmonisation and streamlining should be a priority

For too long, Australia’s energy retailers and their customers have faced a patchwork of rules, scripts, and billing requirements that vary from state to state, provider to provider, and scheme to scheme. While the intention behind these regulations is to protect consumers, the reality is that complexity can make it confusing for customers and often undermines the very outcomes the rules aim to achieve — especially for customers experiencing payment difficulties or living in non-traditional energy arrangements. The Australian Energy Council (AEC) has examined a range of regulatory opportunities aimed at improving the customer experience. The AEC and its members recommend a two-step approach: Pursue harmonisation of relevant laws and regulations to reduce inefficiency and inconsistency. Simplification of specific regulatory practices — starting with bill format rules and call scripting requirements — to create a more effortless customer experience. The following explores why this approach is needed, the opportunities it presents, and the potential risks and trade-offs that policymakers and industry leaders need to navigate.

BY Jo De Silva Sep 25 2025

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