Navigating to the Future Grid
Australia’s electricity systems are experiencing unprecedented transformation. From a past involving hundreds of large, upstream generation plant to a future with tens of millions of energy resources connected across all vertical tiers/layers of the grid.
Inspired by Design Thinking applied to grid transformation, this reference set of five integrated reports provides globally relevant insights for navigating to the future grid uniquely configured for each jurisdiction. In Australia, that is a deeply decarbonised and increasingly distributed and participative future grid.
REPORT 1
Future Customer & Societal Objectives
Report 1 synthesises the diverse voices of customers and policymakers into eight objectives that form the raison d’être of our power systems. This foundational work provides the essential human-centred ‘first principles’ that all credible energy transition pathways must support. To that end, the report provides a framework for ensuring traceability between structural interventions and customer and societal outcomes, including required trade-off choices.
REPORT 2
Emerging Trends Driving Grid Transformation
Report 2 presents a comprehensive scan of the nearly 100 trends reshaping Australia’s power systems, with a focus on the National Electricity Market (NEM). It reveals that grid transformation is not driven by a single disruption, but by the convergence of technological, societal, institutional, and geopolitical shifts. This growing complexity underscores the need for integrated, whole-system thinking. By mapping trends across twelve dimensions of change, the report informs the identification of systemic issues, alongside the broader human-centred objectives of Report 1.
REPORT 3
Systemic Issues & Transformation Risks
Report 3 investigates systemic misalignments with the above human-centred objectives (Report 1) and emerging trends (Report 2), together with embedded non-scalable structural constraints, that underly many of Australia’s most complex energy challenges. This analysis surfaces fifteen systemic issues that hinder adaptability, scalability, and coordination. Using systems architecture methods, it reveals the root causes of sector-wide constraints and highlights where targeted structural reforms can unlock broader transformation. Rather than pursuing issue-in-isolation fixes, the report advocates for high-leverage, architecture-led interventions that reduce complexity, align sectoral efforts, and support a more resilient, scalable energy future. It provides a strategic foundation for whole-of-system reform and governance renewal.
REPORT 4
Distribution System Operator (DSO) Models
Report 4 provides an expansive treatment of Distribution System Operator (DSO) models given their central role in alleviating many of the systemic issues (Report 3) embedded in legacy power systems. It provides a rigorous, whole-system framework that defines the functions, objectives, and governance requirements of DSOs, informed by global precedents and tailored to the National Electricity Market. The report serves as a foundational guide to inform strategic, scalable, and collaborative DSO designs that provision system for an increasingly volatile, bidirectional and participatory future.
REPORT 5
Transmission Distribution Coordination
Report 5 explores the essential role of Transmission-Distribution Coordination (TDC) in navigating the profound structural transformation of the National Electricity Market (NEM). It examines how technical interface design, cyber-physical data exchange, and evolving roles across transmission and distribution are critical to maintaining reliable operations – all of which are highly inter-dependent with DSO designs. The report provides a structural framework for integrated, scalable, and physics-aligned TDC for Australia’s future power system.
Acknowledgements
