COAG makes positive steps towards 21st century energy system

State and federal Energy Ministers have laid some important groundwork towards a cleaner, smarter 21st century energy system, the Clean Energy Council said.

Clean Energy Council Chief Executive Kane Thornton said the spirit of cooperation on display was a welcome feature of the first meeting of the COAG Energy Council since the Federal Election, but substantive reform would take longer than a single day.

“The way our electricity system operates today is already very different to when it was first designed almost 20 years ago. The rise of solar and wind, and the coming of home batteries mean the way we think about energy in 10 or 20 years will be vastly different to business as usual,” Mr Thornton said.

“The kind of considered national energy strategy that is required will take time to negotiate and develop.

“The Energy Council’s moves to ensure consumers are fully empowered to choose new technologies to reduce their energy bills, as well as exploring better connectivity between different parts of the market, make good sense. We believe there has been positive progress that can be built on in the months to come.”

Mr Thornton said every state had met its reliability standards for many years, delivering better than 99.998 per cent of required demand for power.

“We are fortunate to have a very reliable energy system, and it is important to recognise that the volatility of pricing in response to recent disruptive events such as wild storms or maintenance on the interconnector between states is not new,” he said.

“All parties are in agreement that business as usual is not an option. Change is required to build in better flexibility and resilience to the network, but clearly this change will need to be carefully negotiated between governments, industry and regulators.

“We look forward to working closely with state and federal governments on practical solutions to deliver a 21st century energy system.”