Last week’s Energy Networks Australia (EN26) conference in Adelaide brought together industry leaders under the theme “Powered by Connection” – a message that strongly aligns with how we approach our work at NM Group.
Connectivity is central to collaboration across the sector – bringing together different components to help energise our future. As energy systems evolve, there is an increasing need to future-proof networks against changing demand, unpredictable environmental factors, and the drive for more sustainable and equitable access to energy.
The transition won’t be without its challenges. However, events like EN26 play an important role in bringing together like-minded, forward-thinking organisations to share ideas, build partnerships, and shape what comes next.
Our Sales Manager for Oceania, Kevin Kwok, attended the event and shared some key reflections on where the industry is heading.
Here are three takeaways that stood out:
- Infrastructure remains the critical link between demand and supply
Our transmission and distribution grids are under increasing pressure from environmental factors, ageing assets, and the rise of prosumption. Grid planning, upgrades, engineering, and construction of new physical assets require high-fidelity reality capture, such as LiDAR, to provide near real-time visibility across vast geographies. A digital twin approach to infrastructure management is also entering an AI-enabled era, further supporting infrastructure planning and risk assessment.
- Grid visibility and intelligence
With the proliferation of sensors, monitoring, and data collection devices, data is no longer a bottleneck for utility operators. The challenge is to turn observability into actionable insights while reducing the side effects of surfacing more complexity at a faster rate that can overwhelm decision-making.
The opportunity is to enhance data orchestration and analytics of network data to support decision-making in a more dynamic and decentralised energy grid. Australia’s rapid adoption of battery storage and large-scale renewable energy generation has accelerated the need for regulatory agility to align with capital investment, value creation, and equitable access to future infrastructure.
- A resilience-first strategy
Utility operators understand the importance of their duty of care beyond simply providing essential energy services. Infrastructure in the physical world poses real risks. Vegetation and asset management is a well-established domain, and stakeholders are continuously improving their approaches to prevent and minimise risk.
Looking forward to continuing these conversations across the industry.