Energy Futures Seminar: National Energy Guarantee – why is it so important and what happens next? - Sydney

The National Energy Guarantee has become the central issue of energy and climate policy in Australia over the last 9 months. It is the child of the Energy Security Board (ESB) and currently consumes their attention and that of the media, industry and commentators. The April meeting of the Council of federal, state and territory energy ministers agreed that the ESB should proceed to a final, detailed policy design. But what is this “Guarantee”, why is it so important and partly contentious, and what must be done to implement it?

At this Energy Futures Seminar,  ESB Chair, Kerry Schott, Grattan Institute’s Tony Wood and Tim Nelson from AGL as they explained, discussed and debated these issues. The Forum was moderated by Jennifer Hewett from the Australian Financial Review and was hosted by the Melbourne Energy Institute, Grattan Institute and the State Library of New South Wales.

Moderator

Jennifer Hewett is the national affairs columnist for The Australian Financial Review. She writes a daily column on page two of the paper focussed on business and political issues. Jennifer has been a journalist for more than three decades, working in Canberra, Sydney and the US for major Australian papers owned by News and Fairfax. She appears regularly on tv and radio.

Speakers

Dr Kerry Schott AO is Chair of the Energy Security Board, Chair of Moorebank Intermodal Company, a Director of NBN, and a Director of TCorp NSW. She also Chairs the Assurance Board for Sydney Metro, and is a member of the Advisory Board for City and SouthEast Light Rail. Kerry was Managing Director and CEO of Sydney Water from 2006 to 2011. Before that Kerry spent 15 years as an investment banker, including as Managing Director of Deutsche Bank and Executive Vice President of Bankers Trust Australia. During this time she specialised in privatisation, restructuring, and infrastructure provision. Prior to becoming an investment banker Kerry was a public servant and an academic.

Dr Tim Nelson is the Chief Economist AGL Energy Ltd. He is a member of the Westpac Stakeholder Advisory Council and the Grattan Institute Energy Reference Group. Tim is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Griffith University. He holds a PhD in economics for which he earned a Chancellors Doctoral Research Medal and a first class honours degree in economics. Tim is also a qualified Chartered Secretary (AGIA and ACIS).

Tony Wood has been Energy Program Director at Grattan since 2011 after 14 years working at Origin Energy in senior executive roles. From 2009 to 2014 he was also Program Director of Clean Energy Projects at the Clinton Foundation, advising governments in the Asia-Pacific region on effective deployment of large-scale, low-emission energy technologies. In 2008, he was seconded to provide an industry perspective to the first Garnaut climate change review.