ENA Research Priorities Workshop

Identifying the significant issues affecting electricity networks in relation to natural hazards and how they can continue to contribute to a more disaster resilient Australia was the focus of a workshop in Melbourne on 14 August 2018.

The Natural Hazards Resilience Workshop for Electricity Networks focused on understanding the gaps and research opportunities available to Australia’s energy providers.

The workshop was hosted in partnership with S&C Electric Company and Energy Networks Australia and was attended by 40 representatives from Essential Energy, United Energy, Ausgrid, Jemena, SA Power Networks, Western Power, TransGrid, Evoenergy, Endeavour Energy, Powercor Australia, AusNet Services, Energy Queensland, Tasmanian Networks and Horizon Power.

The day featured a morning of informative talks to set the scene, including guest speaker Ron Critelli, senior director from Florida Power and Light, alongside CRC CEO Dr Richard Thornton and Dr Jill Cainey from the S&C Electric Company.

Mr Critelli spoke about the important role that electricity networks play to increase disaster resilience, which includes learning lessons from extreme weather events and a partnership approach towards mitigation.

An afternoon of group discussions took place after the opening keynotes, where attendees explored challenges and opportunities for networks regarding natural hazards, emergency management and resilience and sought consensus on turning those into priorities for the sector.

A research project by Energy Networks Australia, Quantifying catastrophic bushfire consequence, is addressing address some of the knowledge gaps identified during the workshop.

This event was by invitation only.