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 

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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

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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 

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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 

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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

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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 

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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

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In July we hit the half-way mark in the development of the 2026 Integrated System Plan (ISP) with the publication of a number of key reports, including the Inputs, Assumptions and Scenarios Report (IASR) and the new Gas Infrastructure Options Report (GIOR).

The ISP is the strategic roadmap for Australia's National Electricity Market (NEM) and it outlines the investment and infrastructure required to meet government emissions and renewable energy targets and keep the lights on and the gas flowing.

In this episode of AEMO On Air, we talk to AEMO's outgoing EGM System Design, Merryn York (AM) about the development of the ISP and how the 2026 ISP will be different to the 2024 edition, including new gas considerations as well as consumer energy resources.

Merryn shares her rich experience and deep understanding of key issues, such as the role of government policy in the ISP as well as how consumers and new technologies are factored and modeled in this important report.

Read more about the 2026 ISP here: http://bit.ly/3VpxKc5
Interviewer: Catie Low

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AEMO’s latest Quarterly Energy Dynamics (QED) report shows renewable energy reached new highs in Q2 2025 across both the National Electricity Market (NEM) and Western Australia’s Wholesale Electricity Market (WEM).

In this episode of AEMO On Air, AEMO’s Manager of Market Insights, Kerry Galloway, unpacks the data behind a 38% renewable share in the NEM, record contributions in the WEM, and a major lift in battery output across both systems.

Kerry also explores how outages and variable conditions in June affected prices and increased reliance on gas-fired generation, and how emissions continued to fall despite rising demand.

Plus, what’s ahead for Australia’s energy future, with more than 53 GW of projects still progressing through the connection pipeline?

Read the QED here: http://bit.ly/45b7wyx  
Interviewer: Catie Low

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In this week’s episode of AEMO On Air, we welcome our new host, Dr Niraj (Nij) Lal – a Principal in the Future Energy Systems Group in AEMO System Design.
 
A passionate science communicator and energy expert, Nij is also a Visiting Fellow at ANU and a familiar voice to many Australian families through the ABC’s children’s science podcast ‘Imagine This’, as well as through his work on ‘Play School’, and ‘Catalyst’ programs.
 
In this episode, Nij shares his journey from solar cell physics at Cambridge to system planning at AEMO, what inspired him to join AEMO, and how his team contributes to managing Australia’s energy transition. He also breaks down the vital role of system security in keeping our energy system reliable – and gives a preview of the next three episodes he’ll be hosting.
 
Whether you’re an industry insider or simply energy curious, this episode is the perfect place to start.
 
Interviewer: Catie Low
Catch-up on our Transition for System Security episode here: www.buzzsprout.com/2319637/episodes/16666835
Listen to Nij on ABC’s ‘Imagine This’ podcast here: www.abc.net.au/kidslisten/programs/imagine-this

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