Partners:
On Wednesday 21st of August, C4NET hosted their first ESPV webinar: Orchestration for Consumer Benefit; Connecting with Consumers to Support Grid Transformation”.
The webinar facilitated a thought-provoking conversation around the integration of consumer energy sources (CER) into Australia’s energy system and how the sector can better engage with consumers to optimise CER integration.
This webinar included opening remarks from C4NET CEO James Seymour, a presentation from Professor Joshua Newton at Deakin University, and a panel discussion and Q&A with Professor Newton, Andrew Lewis from AEMC, Con Hristodoulidis from Clean Energy Council, and Brian Spak from Energy Consumers Australia.
Here are the highlights from the webinar:
To kick off, James Seymour discussed the long-term future of Australia’s energy landscape, from the impending shift to renewable generation to the need for modernised energy system planning. James highlighted the gap in energy distribution system forecasting and planning and the need to expand on the Integrated System Plan (ISP), as recognised by energy ministers and Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).
The Enhanced System Planning (ESP) project aims to address these challenges by developing new methodologies for energy planning beyond 2030. The ESP project is a collaborative effort involving universities, distribution network service providers, energy consumers and government agencies.
Professor Joshua Newton from Deakin University then presented the findings from his research on integrating distributed energy resources in the National Electricity Market (NEM), and consumer policy perceptions. Professor Newton conducted a survey with 1,400 participants in Victoria, focusing on electric space heating, electric water heating and electric vehicle charging.
The findings showed that consumers generally prefer full control over their CER but become price-sensitive and willing to trade control for lower energy bills. His research found there was a shift in consumer references for partial control and energy as a service when consumers were provided with information on potential energy bill increases, thus reiterating the importance of education and accessible information in shaping consumer decisions and perceptions.
Professor Newton introduced the concept of adopter categories and their impact on consumer attitudes towards market-based and mandated mechanisms. To finish, he highlighted the need for further research on the impact of contextual information on consumer preferences for CER control.
Professor Newton’s Final Report can be found here.
The panel discussion on CER and system integration offered much to think about in the future.
A big talking point amongst the panellists, sparked from C4NET’s ESP Deakin University research, was the importance of education and information in shaping consumer perceptions and encouraging CER adoption.
Brian Spak from Energy Consumers Australia emphasised the importance of system design and communication to encourage consumer investment in CER. Similarly, Andrew Lewis from AEMC discussed the role of education and trusted information in shifting consumer perception and decisions while Con Hristodoulidis from Clean Energy Council shared insights from the CEC’s research on increasing CER adoption through education and information. All panellists agreed there was a need to simplify consumer interactions with the energy system and the role of third parties in facilitating this.
Looking to the future market and system design, Andrew (AEMC) discussed the need for future markets to be designed with a consumer-centric approach while Brian (ECA) emphasised the importance of data transparency and accessibility for effective system planning and optimisation. All panellists touched on the potential for local optimisation and the future role distributed storage could have in addressing grid constraints.
At the end of the webinar, the discussion was opened to webinar attendees for a Q&A. The panellists addressed a number of thought-provoking questions around the effectiveness of education campaigns, the role of third parties, and the impact of CER on local markets. A common theme among the panellists’ answers was the need for a more collaborative and whole-of-system approach, including enhanced distribution level planning, that involves all stakeholders to achieve the best outcomes for consumers and the energy system.
If you’d like to watch the webinar recording, please go to our YouTube channel here.
Join us for Webinar 2!
This webinar kicked off C4NET’s new Webinar Series: Designing a Whole of System Approach to Energy Planning in Australia, which is designed to spark conversations and share valuable insights into comprehensive system planning.
Join us for the 2nd webinar of the series: “Reinventing whole of system planning from the bottom up” on 18 September at 12pm. Registration can be found here.