The need to restructure energy planning and regulation in Australia has been apparent for over a decade, since households and businesses began rapidly installing solar panels on their roofs, flipping the traditional one-way, large-scale supply of electricity into a two-way, consumer-led transition. There needs to be thorough expert consideration on how best to facilitate this transformation.

On 16 September 2024, the Senate established the Select Committee on the Energy Planning and Regulation in Australia to inquire into and report on the institutional structures, governance, regulation, functions, and operation of the Australian energy market.

The complexity and fragmentation of Australia’s energy market governance presents several challenges, including status quo bias, a predominant focus on large-scale generation and supply, slow-moving regulatory processes, and a tendency to prioritise industry preferences over the public good. These issues are common in regulatory systems and are particularly pressing for consumers, especially given the urgent need to reduce carbon pollution.

To quote the late Professor Kirk Smith from the University of California, Berkeley: “The rich will find their world to be more expensive, inconvenient, uncomfortable, disrupted and colourless; in general, more........

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