A WORD FROM THE ENA

NETWORK AWARD WINNERS UP IN LIGHTS

By Jemma Townson, Media and Communications Manager, Energy Networks Australia

After a two-year hiatus, Energy Networks Australia’s Annual Dinner and Awards night was a wonderful opportunity to mingle, network and recognise the work of ENA members.

The sector’s night of nights, the event hosted the glitterati of the industry. The mood in the room was electric while the lights shone on the winners of the consumer engagement and innovation awards. The industry contribution award winner, although shocked, also enjoyed his moment in the spotlight.

2022 Industry Contribution Award winner

Energy industry veteran Laurie Curro from Western Australia’s Horizon Power won Energy Networks Australia’s 2022 Industry Contribution Award. Laurie was recognised for his contribution and commitment to the energy industry, in particular power transmission and distribution in Western Australia over the past 30 years.

Laurie was a member of ENA’s Asset Management Committee for many years and has made a significant contribution to smart grids development, standards, distributed generation, network management, safety and asset management.

His retirement this year represents a major loss to the sector. It is a most appropriate recognition of his many years’ service for him to be the 2022 Industry Contribution Award winner.

2022 Consumer Engagement Award winners

AusNet Services, Australian Gas Networks (AGN) and Multinet Gas Networks (MGN) won the 2022 Energy Networks Industry Consumer Engagement Award. The Victorian gas networks’ joint submission ‘Three businesses, one plan to deliver better outcomes for Victorian customers’ took out the top gong. AGN and MGN are part of the Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG).

Run jointly by ENA and Energy Consumers Australia, the award recognises an Australian energy network that demonstrates best practice consumer engagement.

AusNet Services, Australian Gas Networks and Multinet Gas Networks came together to design and deliver a single, integrated, consumer and stakeholder engagement program for their regulatory reset engagement plans for the Australian Energy Regulator.

By involving all three gas distribution businesses, a clear and consistent engagement plan was able to be produced, providing a single forum to discuss issues of importance to the sector.

Winners of the Industry Innovation Award, Endeavour Energy.

2022 Industry Innovation Award Winner

New South Wales electricity distributor Endeavour Energy won the Energy Network Industry Innovation Award 2022 for its application ‘Using a Network Digital Twin for Digital Emergency Response and Resilience.’ The award recognises leadership in the design, development and application of a ground-breaking Australian energy network initiative. The Digital Twin is a 3D digital model of Endeavour Energy’s footprint including topography and network assets, along with flood modelling capabilities. This allows for near real time information in the event of a major incident such as flood or fire and for longer term planning of the grid such as infrastructure builds and vegetation management. Energy networks are the critical platforms enabling the Australian economy’s transition to net zero emissions. The innovations and consumer engagement work that our members are undertaking is an essential part of the energy sector’s transformation. We look forward to seeing the advances being made in next year’s awards program.

ENA CEO Andrew Dillon, Laurie Curro and ENA Chair Frank Tudor

The industry gathered at Zinc in Melbourne for the awards.