The 2016 Australian Infrastructure Plan6 identified the need to continue reforming Australia's energy sector by supporting new disruptive technologies, continuing the market-led rollout of smart meters and having flexible network tariffs.
Produced by Infrastructure Australia, Prioritising Reform - Progress on the 2016 Australian Infrastructure Plan7 reported that, since 2016, the energy market has been dealing with an influx of technologies, new methods of managing supply and demand, and regulatory uncertainty.
Efforts to address these complex issues have delivered mixed results, and the report identified key issues that have stalled progress, including:
• rising household and business energy bills, which on average have increased at a considerably higher rate than inflation
• the impact of emerging intermittent energy generation such as solar and wind (where output is not readily predictable without any storage capacity) on system stability in some regions of the NEM, SWIS, NWIS and interconnected systems in the Northern Territory
• the impact of reduced gas exports on prices.
Key energy stakeholders hold contrasting views, increasing the difficulty of settling on a robust position.
There has been some progress since the 2016 Plan. An Integrated System Plan has been developed, to be refreshed by AEMO every two years from 2018. The Gas Supply Guarantee was established in 2017 and extended to 31 March 2023. However, more progress is needed on:
• smart meter rollout
• flexible time-of-day tariffs
• standalone power system reforms
• electric vehicle integration
• renewable energy reforms.
The 2021 Australian Infrastructure Plan has a strong focus on forming a unified national approach that progresses these key areas. Infrastructure Australia has considered some outstanding recommendations from the 2016 Plan, such as improving resilience, in the cross-cutting themes of the 2021 Plan.