In your role at Accenture Australia & New Zealand, what are the big questions that keep you up at night right now?

As Australia continues its path toward decarbonisation and achieving net-zero emissions, a few key strategic questions arise: What should the nation’s optimal energy mix look like? What is the role of gas? Should nuclear energy have a role in it? However, as we meet executives across the region – its clear that the question of consumer affordability is top of mind for all energy provider executives. Lately, this is the question I think about the most. What’s made this such an urgent industry concern? We’re all aware of the significant investments required to modernise the grid in Australia and evolve it for lower carbon emissions. Additionally, we’re managing more frequent and severe weather events, higher cost of capital and increasing demand. Energy, particularly electricity, is a fundamental necessity. Accenture’s recent research showed that 62% of consumers identified affordability & reliability expectations as their #1 priority and more than 2 in 5 households experienced challenges paying their energy bills in the last 12 months.

At Accenture, we believe that Reinvention has the potential to address energy affordability challenges and facilitate a more affordable energy system. It requires a holistic review and action of the energy provider’s strategy, processes and workforce. Additionally, at the heart of reinvention is an industry-leading digital core, the critical technology capability to create and empower each organization’s unique reinvention ambitions. The digital core is what enables AI and generative AI, technologies that give us a deeper, richer understanding of consumers. By unlocking the value of data, we can design products and services that align with consumers’ values and needs and create frictionless experiences that ease adoption and win hearts and minds faster. We also need to relentlessly optimize. Using new opportunities afforded by the same digital core—comprising seven component capabilities including the right mix of cloud practices for agility and innovation; data and AI for agility and differentiation; applications and platforms for accelerated growth, next generation experiences and optimized operations—we can do better with less across every area of the business in the region.

What are the most exciting opportunities for the energy sector that could emerge before 2030?

By 2030, various versions of AI will drive some of the most compelling opportunities for the energy sector. These opportunities will center on driving industrial decarbonization at scale while simultaneously improving cost efficiency and creating new customer value.

 AI’s role will shift from an operational tool to a real-time decision-maker. As its capabilities expand, AI will play an increasing role in navigating regulatory complexity, automating compliance, and supporting decarbonization mandates. While AI is already integrated into some operations, energy providers will likely see even greater automation in regulatory filings, energy market participation, and sustainability initiatives. Beyond operational gains, there is also a major opportunity in bringing customers along the energy transition journey. By offering integrated energy services that combine clean power delivery with decarbonization-as-a-service models, energy providers will have the opportunity to meet customers ‘where they are’, help them reduce emissions and demonstrate clear value even in contexts where paying a premium for greener energy solutions is required.

With a NEM market review underway, what do you see as the most pressing areas to change?

To accelerate progress toward a net-zero future, it is essential that we actively incentivise investment in renewable energy generation and storage across all levels of the energy system—from large-scale, transmission-connected solar and battery assets to customer-owned PV systems and distributed battery solutions. Incentive and enablement mechanisms must be broad, inclusive, and designed to engage all stakeholders—ensuring that businesses, investors, and consumers alike have both the motivation and the practical means to participate in the transition. This requires the establishment of robust investment and market mechanisms that offer confidence in the returns associated with clean energy technologies. These mechanisms should also support the integration of both consumer energy resources (CER) and distributed energy resources (DER), underpinned by enabling technologies and streamlined processes that remove barriers to entry and promote seamless participation. Potential approaches include the development of new energy market that allow for greater and more diverse participation or improved access to energy data. This would empower commercial and industrial customers to quickly assess the financial and operational implications of their investment decisions—reducing lead times and administrative burdens that currently hinder action.

By focusing on clear, accessible, and future-ready mechanisms, we can unlock the full potential of clean energy innovation and accelerate Australia's pathway to a sustainable, net-zero economy.

What innovations do you believe will have the most impact on the energy transition?

The innovations with the greatest impact will be those that help reduce the cost of operations while enabling customers to actively participate and invest in the transition to a greener energy system. Two areas stand out:

• Digitalization and AI to drive operational efficiency - Digital tools that optimize asset performance, enhance maintenance, streamline permitting and improve system planning will be critical to squeezing cost out of operations. Innovations that lower construction and equipment costs, improve asset design, and optimize power and feedstock inputs can further reduce expenses while accelerating deployment.
• Integrated, customer-centric energy services - Solutions that combine clean energy provision, demand management and emissions reduction as-a-service will meet customers where they are and help them decarbonize while delivering measurable value. By embedding digital certification, traceability and circular economy principles, these models can build trust and justify a price premium for greener energy.

Collaborative business models utilities, industrials, technology providers and financiers will accelerate the scaling of emerging solutions like clean hydrogen, carbon capture and electrification. The most impactful innovations will lower costs, enable decarbonization, and create customer value at scale.

What’s the one thing in the energy sector that no one is talking about, but should be?

The role of utilities in accelerating industrial decarbonization is a critical conversation that isn’t getting the attention it deserves. Heavy industries like steel, cement and chemicals cannot decarbonize at pace without affordable, reliable access to low-carbon power and hydrogen. Utilities are uniquely positioned to scale supply, reduce costs and provide certainty that industry demand can be met but this requires deeper collaboration and a clear, long-term strategy. Simply put, without energy providers leaning in and defining their role in decarbonizing heavy industry, the entire net zero agenda is at risk. The next three years are crucial to get this right.

Join us at Australian Energy Week 17-20 June 2025 to hear more from Accenture and a host of other energy leaders. Learn more.