Electricity network development: new challenges for Australia

The law and regulation of energy networks in the electricity industry in Australia has undergone substantial change over the past two decades. After energy market reform, the regulatory model governing electricity transmission and distribution is now largely premised on assumptions of competition theory and economic efficiency. This chapter examines two contemporary interrelated challenges for the governance of electricity network development in Australia. First, it looks at how the expected influx of new, renewable generation will place pressures upon the highly centralized, existing electricity networks. This pressure reveals that the existing network configuration does not readily allow for electricity sourced from renewable energy. Second, the chapter explores the need to replace bushfire-prone network distribution infrastructure in light of heightened bushfire risk