Enabling the Energy Performance Revolution: Energy Governance and Market Reform
In 2023, the Australian Council of Social Service, Ai Group, Energy Efficiency Council, and the Property Council of Australia collectively launched a discussion paper on potential reform to energy governance and market settings.
Our aim is to advance the potential for demand-side measures to lower bills, reduce emissions, improve equity, energy security and business competitiveness, and accelerate the transition to a net zero economy.
In 2024, that discussion paper was followed by three online workshops to refine priority reforms for the energy system.

Roundtable 1: Energy system planning, coordination and governance frameworks
Wednesday 7 February 2024
Hosted by Tennant Reed of Ai Group, the discussion focussed on how we coordinate the supply and demand sides of the energy system, and identify what good, holistic system planning and policy coordination might look like. We’ll have an eye out for examples of gaps in connection between suppliers and users of energy, and how the governance of our energy system might evolve to meet the challenges of the energy transition.

Roundtable 2: Energy system objectives – what do we want the system to achieve?
When: Thursday 22 February 2-3.30pm AEDT
Hosted by Kellie Caught of the Australian Council of Social Service, this workshop tackled whether the current National Energy Objectives set the right expectations for the system, and how competing objectives should be balanced.

Roundtable 3: Hearing the voices of end-users in the energy system
When: Wednesday 6 March 2-3.30pm AEDT
Hosted by Alex St John of the Energy Efficiency Council, this workshop explored how consumers and businesses are represented, and whether their voices are adequately heard. We’ll also examine whether end-users can shape how the energy system transitions, and whether energy governance and markets can meet their future needs.
Joint Discussion Paper
The Australian Council of Social Service, Ai Group, the Energy Efficiency Council, and the Property Council of Australia collectively seek to advance the potential for demand-side measures in the energy system - including energy efficiency, energy management and electrification - to lower bills, reduce emissions, improve equity and energy security, improve business competitiveness, and accelerate the transition to a net zero economy.
Demand-side measures can substantially lower the costs associated with the energy system by reducing the need to overinvest in supply-side infrastructure to meet infrequent periods of high or mismatched demand for energy services. In doing so, they can ease supply chain challenges involved in rolling out new energy infrastructure, which are acute today and likely to remain important over the long term. However, a range of barriers have long reduced Australia’s use of demand-side measures. Historically, low energy prices have blunted incentives to invest in energy efficiency and management, and promotion of demand-side measures was not included in the design of national energy markets.
This discussion paper seeks to inform reforms to energy governance and markets that are crucial to enable greater demand-side participation in the energy system. Demand-side measures are frequently the subject of market failures such as split incentives, information imbalances, externalities, and substantial market power imbalances, which are not adequately addressed by current energy policy and market settings. The issues and reforms canvassed in this discussion paper primarily consider the jurisdictions that compose the National Electricity Market, although some of the proposed reforms will have national application.
Download a .pdf of the discussion paper here.
Download a .docx of the discussion paper.
Webinar
On Tuesday, 1 August 2023, between the authors of this discussion paper discussed some of the issues presented, and canvassed initial areas of discussion and reform. You can watch a recroding of that discussion below.