We are committed to engaging with our customers and stakeholders to inform our 2026-31 plans. As part of this engagement program, in November 2023 we held the Energy Transition Summit to explore emerging network challenges presented by the growth in new technologies, such as rooftop solar and electric vehicles (EVs).

During this session, attendees debated preferred service levels for these technologies and shared additional ideas and considerations to feed into our plans.

Alongside the summit, we published the Service Level Options Paper for consultation. Customers and stakeholders were invited to share their views on how they would like to use their customer energy resources (resources that can generate or store power for customers). We were especially committed to hearing from regional and rural customers and customers that may be experiencing vulnerability.

What we heard

Stakeholders demonstrated a collective commitment to an equitable and sustainable energy transition, navigating challenges in solar exports and EV integration.

On the topic of rooftop solar:

• Stakeholders strongly believed in the benefits of flexible solar exports, stemming from economic considerations and the desire to support future generations.
• There was a strong emphasis placed on fairness and equity in the solar export transition, with discussion around the challenge of deciding who should bear the costs of required capacity upgrades.
• United Energy stakeholder voting preference was based on:
  1. The urgent need to respond to the climate emergency guided stakeholders’ service level preferences for the next regulatory reset period.
  2. The need for increased capacity to support flexible export and hosting capacity was also highlighted.

On the topic of EVs:

• Considerations including conflicting information and forecasts on EV uptake and charging profiles, technology accessibility, and the potential for trickle charging as opposed to fast chargers were all highlighted.
• Stakeholders expressed uncertainty about the future of EV uptake and charging behaviours due to inconsistent data and a lack of government policy.
• It was shared that customers might prefer trickle charging due to cost considerations, dwelling connection types, and the convenience of regular “top-ups” at public locations. A nuanced approach is needed for regions with key tourism destinations where seasonality could impact EV electricity demand.
• United Energy stakeholder voting preference was based on:
  1. Demand management was raised as a concern, with the potential for uncontrolled charging to lead to a “dead network”.