National Electricity Market: Tail between its NEG?
It's often said that a week is a long time in politics. The almost 100 weeks since the 'black system' in South Australia and the resulting political response can be considered an eternity. During this period, we have seen some of the most significant developments and interventions in the National Electricity Market (NEM), since it's inception almost 20 years ago. This includes (but is not limited to) Government led interventions, such as the South Australian Energy Plan, Snowy 2.0 and the now mortally wounded National Energy Guarantee (NEG). Additionally, the Australian Energy Market Operator has also taken on a more proactive role with respect to planning and has shown a greater willingness to intervene in the operation of the market. This seminar will explore these interventions, the evolving political economy of the power system, a post-mortem of the NEG and the potential implications for the future and long-term sustainability of the National Electricity Market.
Dr Dylan McConnell is an energy systems research fellow at the University of Melbourne Climate & Energy College and researcher at the multi-institutional Energy Transition Hub. He has extensive experience in analysing the electricity sector in Australia. Dylan’s work is focused on electricity infrastructure and governance, and the energy transition in liberalised electricity markets. He also specialises in operations research and the optimisation of electricity systems. His work is interdisciplinary and has been published in forums including the Journal of Energy Policy, the Journal of Applied Energy, the Electricity Journal, and the Journal of Environmental Sociology. His work can be found on The Conversation.