Connections Reform Initiative update

An update on the the recent progress made by the Connections Reform Initiative and includes an interview with one of the participants in the process.

Progress update

Detailed work?is underway on each of the seven solution areas, with participants working on refining issue definitions, identifying solutions and undertaking solution design and implementation planning.

This Solutions Development Phase will continue over the next several months.?The first draft recommendations are expected to be released for consultation in September, with recommendations for each individual initiative to be released periodically when work is completed.

The form that the consultation takes will vary depending on the recommendations being made. More information will be provided as work continues and the draft recommendations are developed.

The Connections Reform Roadmap will then be?created in October, bringing together all the recommendations to develop a broad plan for connection reform across the industry.

Participant profile

The Connections Reform Initiative has brought together some of the Australian renewable energy industry's leading experts to find solutions to the delays and the increasing complexity of connecting to the grid.

Throughout the life of the Connections Reform Initiative, we will profile some of these experts to provide an insight into why they became involved with the Connections Reform Initiative and what they expect it to achieve.

Our first profile focuses on Ian Christmas, Engineering Lead at Edify Energy.??

Why is the Connections Reform Initiative so important for the Australian clean energy industry?

In recent years, the grid connection process has gone through a number of transformations, arguably more challenging and certainly frustrating for everyone involved. However, it is easy to forgot the highly complex issue this is underpinning, and the cost of not following due process or incomplete due diligence is high.

Why did you get involved in the Connections Reform Initiative??

The Connections Reform Initiative is, to my knowledge, the first truly collaborative forum bringing all parties together for a common outcome. I was grateful to be invited to join and have the opportunity to participate. The forum has brought together an extremely diverse collection of people from different backgrounds, representing stakeholders at all levels, and with many people I truly respect. It has provided a safe environment to share, challenge and explore the issues from different perspectives, agree the intent behind the process, and realise the common goals we all share.

As you would expect, the early stages, under the excellent facilitator Neil Gibbs, enabled everyone to get a lot off their chests, passionately disagree, but come back to a number of common issues and select those with the potential to have the biggest impact.

Which solution area are you working on and why is it important?

I am part of the cluster focusing on access – nothing is off the table and the discussion is enlightening and also reinforcing the common aspirations. I do not think anyone is kidding themselves that there is a silver bullet, but there are quick wins. It is easy to say it is too hard, nothing will change and feed the sense of mistrust and suspicion, but I am experiencing a group that is willing to lead by example and drive change within the industry.

In my opinion, the biggest winner is the collaboration and relationships being formed from understanding each others' perspectives. I truly believe much will be achieved through the building of trust and respect, and, importantly, listening to each other.

What outcomes do you hope the Connections Reform Initiative will achieve?

I welcome this initiative and thank those CEOs who worked with the leadership at the Australian Energy Market Operator to bring life to this initiative. I have high hopes for it resulting in a greater level of communication and process reform to guide Australia along the unstoppable transition to a green and clean energy future.

More information

Visit the Clean Energy Council's Connection Reform Initiative page on our website for all the latest updates.