At Australian Energy Week taking place on 9-12 June at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, keynote speaker Marc England, Chief Executive Officer at Ausgrid, will turn his attention to the role of regulated distribution networks, in lowering consumer costs, system reliability risk and easing the pathway to net zero.
When leaders from across the clean energy sector gather at Australian Energy Week 2026 in Melbourne, the agenda will reflect the scale and complexity of the nation’s energy transition across the supply chain.
Amid these discussions, some industry leaders argue that one critical part of the system often receives less attention: The distribution network service providers that connect generation to consumers.
For Marc England, Chief Executive Officer at Ausgrid and keynote speaker at Australian Energy Week, this “missing middle” will be central to his message at the conference.
“A lot of the energy transition narrative focuses on large-scale wind, solar and high-voltage transmission. Another part of the conversation talks about what happens behind the meter with solar panels, batteries and electric vehicles. The missing middle in the narrative is the role distribution networks can play, that sits between those two,” England says.
He argues that effective use of distribution infrastructure, including sub-transmission, community batteries and local charging infrastructure, could reduce costs, speed up delivery, and address consequences for consumers and communities.
“Distribution networks are under-utilised in many parts of the system. However, it could provide lower-cost alternatives to some of the infrastructure we’re currently planning. This results in opportunities being missed to lower the cost of the transition,” England says.
Sub-transmission, batteries and EV
Ausgrid is a regulated network business that owns and operates the poles, wires and substations that deliver electricity to around 1.8 million customers across Sydney, the Central Coast and the Hunter.
Interestingly, the network’s ownership model is partly state-owned and partly private-owned: New South Wales Government (49.6 per cent), AustralianSuper (8.4 per cent), IFM Investors (25.2 per cent), and APG Asset Management (16.8 per cent).
This ownership structure combines private sector investment discipline with public oversight, positioning the network well to invest in modern infrastructure and deliver reliable, cost-efficient electricity for millions of homes and businesses.
“Our number one priority is to run a reliable, safe and low-cost network at scale,” England says.
“What I see inside Ausgrid is a bunch of very motivated people rolling up their sleeves to deliver power from the transmission system downstream for Australians at the lowest possible price for customers.”
England explains that the rules and assumptions that shaped the sector decades ago are being stress-tested by new technology and two-way energy flows.
“The system we operate in today was designed more than 35 years ago, when electricity demand was stable and generation was dispatchable and controllable,” he says.
England is careful about framing the debate as “education,” but says parts of the sector still view regulated networks through the wrong lens.
“There are deeply ingrained paradigms in the wider industry about how regulated networks work and what our motivations are. I think there needs to be more discussion about the actual modern issues we’re facing, and how networks can drive costs down,” he says.
Sub-transmission: Lower cost bridge
A key plank of Ausgrid’s argument is that the sub-transmission layer within distribution has been missed. However, sub-transmission can help lower the cost of renewables in the right locations.
“In the distribution networks in Australia, we go up to 132 kilovolts. Sub-transmission is a critical, but often underappreciated, layer within the grid,” England says.
He points to the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone as an example.
“We’re building that at about one-third of the typical cost of transmission per gigawatt of renewables. The lower cost comes from using existing infrastructure. It’s brownfield development rather than greenfield.”
England says this is not an argument against large-scale transmission or Renewable Energy Zones, it is a case for using what already exists first to de-risk the bigger more complex projects.
“Recent work by all three New South Wales (NSW) networks as part of a Distribution Systems Plan estimated that if we do more in the sub-transmission network, we’ll de-risk transition timeframes by two to five years,” he says.
In addition, England also argues for greater use of network batteries positioned between large grid-scale storage and behind-the-meter systems across Australia.
“If networks were allowed to put more battery storage into the system, it would de-risk and reduce the cost of the energy transition overall,” he says.
“Ausgrid has already been deploying community batteries in its low-voltage network to reduce peak loads at substations. This effectively protects against future stress to the grid, and future costs for repair or replacement.”
England believes the economics of using community batteries for households and businesses is compelling.
“The cost per kilowatt-hour of a community battery is about 40 per cent less than a home battery,” England says.
“We’re not saying there shouldn’t be home batteries, but this middle layer is missing out on real opportunity to stabilise the system and de-risk the transition with lower-cost solutions,” he adds.
The risk of mini monopolies
Electric vehicle charging is one area where England believes the current market structure may not deliver the best consumer outcomes.
“Although regulated monopolies sometimes get a bad wrap, our prices are regulated with great oversight. However, it’s often missed that competitive markets sometimes create monopolistic outcomes, which creates pricing power that isn’t always in the best interest of customers,” England says.
“For example, electric vehicle charge point operators can charge three or four times more than you pay at home for electricity. That price is not regulated, and a mini monopoly is created because there’s no incentive to put a second charger on the same street and halve its utilisation,” England adds.
Ausgrid and other distribution networks are proposing an alternative model; made up of, low-power kerbside charging delivered on existing electricity poles, with infrastructure deployed by distribution networks under regulated returns.
Under this model, England argues the customer experience should be compelling.
“As a customer, you should be able to plug in and have your retailer bill you at your home electricity price,” England says.
“Some suggest we want to be a retailer – we don’t. We’re just saying that we’re best positioned to provide that low-cost ubiquitous infrastructure as a platform others can compete from, just like the network has always done historically,” England adds.
Ausgrid’s perspective is partly informed by its membership of the global Energy Transitions Commission. Chaired by Member of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom, Lord Adair Turner, the Energy Transitions Commission is made up of a coalition of leaders from across the traditional and renewable energy landscape committed to achieving net zero emissions by mid-century.
“We receive their publications, analysis and thinking, which helps us maintain a global perspective on the transition,” England says.
However, he emphasises that solutions must reflect local conditions.
“Australia as a continent, and the state of NSW have their own unique characteristics. We can all learn by what’s going on in other jurisdictions, however, the energy transition must be considered with local context in the interest of consumers,” England says.
Since joining Ausgrid in 2023, England’s focus has been two-fold: Ensuring the network delivers its core service safely and reliably, while advocating for reforms that reduce costs and risks for customers.
“The role of distribution networks in enabling that has historically been missing but is beginning to be better understood as many of us make the case,” England says.
Ultimately, England says the sector must focus on a single important question: “How do we transition at the lowest possible cost for customers?”
“That should define our choices. Some of the answer is sitting in our distribution networks. Paradigms and policy just need to adjust to enable it.”
For more information or to register your attendance at Australian Energy Week, click here.
This article was featured in ecogeneration magazine (April 2026 edition).
