Energy Grid Alliance Submission to AEMO’s Draft 2023 IASR

AEMO has prepared the draft Draft 2023 Inputs, Assumptions and Scenarios Report (IASR), and an accompanying Inputs and Assumptions workbook which contains the proposed key scenario data. The consultation related to the inputs, assumptions and scenarios that AEMO proposes to use in its 2023-24 forecasting and planning activities, including the 2024 ISP.

The National Electricity Rules require AEMO to develop, consult and publish the draft IASR in accordance with the Australian Energy Regulator’s (AER’s) Forecasting Best Practice Guidelines.

Energy Grid Alliance has made a submission to this consultation process. Given the nature of the work undertaken by Energy Grid Alliance, this submission responds primarily to matters around Social Licence and transmission planning.

Developing constructive relationships, empathy and trust will be most effective when discussions with community start early during a project's inception. Having routing and siting decisions guided by community through a more 'consistent', 'fair' and 'just' rationale will provide the greatest benefit to any electricity transmission project.

Transmission planning increasingly will be driven by a fuller range of public policies, social licence, and priorities, both state and federal. Policy needs to provide the stimulus to transmission planners to make those objectives a significant part of the planning process. It is vital we understand that public policy objectives need to include environmental and energy policy objectives. The number of state and federal initiatives to imbue land use and environment considerations earlier in the planning processes needs to grow considerably. The convergence of these state and federal trends, as well as new modelling tools and analytical methodologies should be implemented by planning authorities across the nation.