AEMO has released our 2026 Gas Statement of Opportunities (GSOO) – an annual outlook examining gas demand and supply across Australia’s east coast over the next 20-plus years.

In this episode of AEMO On Air, we chat with Alice McLaren, AEMO’s Manager of Market Operability in System Design, to break down what the latest analysis means for industry, governments and consumers.

As Alice explains: “We’re seeing an improvement in our forecast compared to last year… but longer term, those risks remain and point to the need for new investment in supply, storage and infrastructure…. We still see gas as having a critical role to play… particularly as a backup where renewable generation is less available.”

Key takeaways:

Near-term outlook improving
The 2026 GSOO shows a more positive short-term outlook for southern states, driven by new infrastructure commitments, increased peak supply expectations, and reduced gas demand from electrification and changes in consumption.

Longer-term risks remain
From around 2030, the report identifies increasing risks of supply gaps across most weather scenarios – reinforcing the need for timely investment in new gas supply, storage and pipelines.

Declining southern production is a key driver
A major factor is the continued decline of legacy gas fields, particularly in Victoria, with significant implications for how the southern market is supplied in future.

Read the GSOO here: https://bit.ly/3PyFSYe
VGPR: https://bit.ly/4v6VEdk
GSOO explainer: https://bit.ly/4bCPZnG
Media release: https://bit.ly/4uRpO3T

Interviewer: Catie Low

LinkedIn | X | Facebook

Following the release of AEMO’s Transition Plan for System Security (TPSS) in December 2025, this episode explores what it takes to keep Australia’s power system secure as the energy transition accelerates. 

In the third and final instalment in our system security series, Dr Niraj (Nij) Lal talks to Lars Narushevich, Specialist Engineer in System Security Planning at AEMO, to break down the fundamentals of system security and how the industry is working with AEMO to keep the power system secure.

NIj and Lars discuss what system security means in the National Electricity Market (NEM) and why it’s a shared responsibility, how AEMO sets system security requirements 3-10 years ahead through the planning process, the role of system strength and inertia in a secure power system, and how AEMO works with transmission network service providers to identify gaps and signal future needs.

Interviewer: Dr Niraj (Nij) Lal

Download the 2025 TPSS here: https://bit.ly/3XusYeC

Catch up on the previous system security episodes...
Episode 1: https://bit.ly/43tbEtT
Episode 2: https://bit.ly/4uKaXIF

LinkedIn | X | Facebook

Season 3 of AEMO On Air is underway  🎙️ 

In the first episode for 2026, we speak with Kerry Galloway, AEMO’s Manager of Market Insights, about a milestone quarter for Australia’s energy transition following the launch of AEMO’s Q4 2025 Quarterly Energy Dynamics (QED) report.

For the first time ever, renewables and storage supplied more than half of total energy needs across the east and west coast grids in Q4, with WA’s WEM reaching an extraordinary 91% renewable supply at peak. Strong renewable output contributed to lower wholesale prices — while remaining just one of several factors that shape the market.

The episode also explores the continued surge in investment, from grid-scale solar and batteries to rooftop systems on Australian homes. Battery discharge nearly tripled year-on-year in the NEM and jumped around 200% in the WEM, while rooftop solar growth is increasingly influencing daytime demand and minimum operational demand.

Combined with milder conditions than Q4 2024, the quarter highlights sustained momentum and real change in the energy mix.

🗎 Explore the full QED for more insights: https://bit.ly/3LRXQUf

Interviewer: Catie Low

LinkedIn | X | Facebook

Australia’s electricity system is transforming at speed and the choices made, specifically in the coming decade, will shape costs, reliability and emissions outcomes for generations.

In this episode of AEMO On Air, we sat down with Nicola Falcon, AEMO’s Executive General Manager of System Design, to unpack the Draft 2026 Integrated System Plan (ISP) and the big themes shaping this story.

With electricity demand forecast to nearly double by 2050, driven by electrification of homes, industry and transport, plus rapid growth in data centres, the draft ISP lays out a clear, least-cost roadmap to replace retiring coal while keeping the lights on. 

We dig into why renewables, firmed by storage, backed up by gas and connected with networks remains the least-cost and reliable pathway, and how today’s investments in rooftop solar, batteries, large-scale renewables and networks are already lining up with that plan.

And Nicola explores what’s changed since the last ISP, including technology costs, along with deeper analysis on gas supply infrastructure and distribution network cost to support further consumer energy resource benefits.

Read the Draft 2026 ISP here: https://bit.ly/3KBBcik
Media release: https://bit.ly/4rOf7hc 
ISP Toolkit: https://bit.ly/48OgVOA
Infographic: https://bit.ly/3KXNkdC 

Interviewer: Catie Low 

LinkedIn | X | Facebook

This week we released the 2025 Transition Plan for System Security (TPSS) and in our latest episode of AEMO On Air, Chris Davies, AEMO’s Group Manager – Future Energy Systems, unpacks what it means for Australia’s energy future.

As coal power stations continue to exit the power system, replacement system security services are needed to unlock the growing potential of renewable energy, including rooftop solar, to help deliver a smooth transition for consumers.

Chris also reflects on the renewable success story that is South Australia, and what its experience means for the rest of the National Electricity Market (NEM).

Read the full TPSS here: https://bit.ly/3XusYeC
Media Release: https://bit.ly/4rt4xMj

Interviewer: Jonathon Geddes

LinkedIn | X | Facebook

Australia’s energy transition is accelerating and the next Integrated System Plan (ISP) will be central to guiding it. 

In this episode of AEMO On Air, we speak with Nicola Falcon, Executive General Manager – System Design, about how the ISP is developed, why it matters, and why it’s increasingly the envy of countries without a comparable long-term plan to navigate their transition. 

Nicola explains how the ISP provides a national roadmap for generation, storage and network investment through to 2050, built on more than a year of consultation with over 1,400 stakeholders and 240 submissions. She outlines what’s new in the Draft 2026 ISP, including expanded scope into distribution network opportunities and better integration with gas markets and how feedback has refined assumptions on consumer energy resources and infrastructure timing. 

The Draft 2026 ISP will be released on Wednesday, 10 December 2025. 

Interviewer: Catie Low 

LinkedIn | X | Facebook

One in three Australian homes now have rooftop solar, that’s more than 4 million systems nationwide providing, on some days, over half of the east coast’s electricity. 
 
Australia is leading the world in distributed energy, with home batteries and electric vehicles rapidly changing how our power system operates. But as solar becomes a dominant force in the grid, maintaining stability and security presents new challenges. 
 
In episode two of AEMO On Air’s System Security series, Nij sits down with Jonathon Dore, AEMO’s Manager – DER Technical Integration, to explore how AEMO is working with industry and transition partners to maintain system security through the renewable transition and the critical challenges of managing high Distributed Energy Resources (DER) and Consumer Energy Resources (CER) penetration 
 
Jonathon explained system security using a simple analogy of something he loves: Maintaining system security is like riding a mountain bike on a trail. On the smooth sections, keeping the bike stable is almost effortless, but on the challenging sections, you need different skills and a different approach. 
 
Catch up on episode one in this series here: https://bit.ly/43tbEtT

Interviewer: Dr Niraj (Nij) Lal 

LinkedIn | X | Facebook

In this episode of AEMO On Air, we unpack the key findings from AEMO’s Quarterly Energy Dynamics (QED) report for Q3 2025 – a quarter defined by record renewable generation, greater market stability, and falling wholesale electricity prices across the NEM.

AEMO’s Manager of Market Insights, Kerry Galloway, joins us to break down the data behind the trends, from new renewable records to what it all means for Australia’s evolving energy landscape.

Renewables reached new highs, with record-breaking contributions across the NEM and WEM:

• 77.2% peak renewable contribution in the NEM
• Rooftop solar up 11%
• Wind and grid-scale solar up 16% year-on-year
• Renewables supplying 36.4% of WA’s power – another Q3 record

Read the QED here: https://bit.ly/47kVBAQ
Interviewer: Catie Low

LinkedIn | X | Facebook

In this first episode of our three-part series on power system security, new AEMO on Air host Nij is joined by Yvonne Coughlan, one of our Group Managers in Operations.

Yvonne shares her journey from working across European power systems, including her time at Ireland’s system and market operator, EirGrid, to her work at AEMO.

She reflects on the parallels and differences in global energy transitions in a conversation that explores transition point planning, what life is like inside a control room, and how AEMO is preparing for the accelerating energy transition.

Interviewer: Dr Niraj (Nij) Lal 

LinkedIn | X | Facebook

AEMO's annual Electricity Statement of Opportunities (ESOO) harnesses the latest data from the energy sector to deliver a 10-year look ahead at the investments needed to support reliability in the National Electricity Market (NEM).

In this episode of AEMO On Air, Ben Jones, our Manager of Reliability Forecasting, explains how the delivery of all projects in the investment pipeline – generation, storage, transmission and the enablement of consumer energy resources – are needed to meet reliability standards for the coming decade, as outlined in the 2025 ESOO.

Learn more about the 2025 ESOO here: http://bit.ly/4m41FBS
Interviewer: Catie Low

LinkedIn | X | Facebook