Australia’s electricity system is transforming at speed and the choices made, specifically in the coming decade, will shape costs, reliability and emissions outcomes for generations.

In this episode of AEMO On Air, we sat down with Nicola Falcon, AEMO’s Executive General Manager of System Design, to unpack the Draft 2026 Integrated System Plan (ISP) and the big themes shaping this story.

With electricity demand forecast to nearly double by 2050, driven by electrification of homes, industry and transport, plus rapid growth in data centres, the draft ISP lays out a clear, least-cost roadmap to replace retiring coal while keeping the lights on.

We dig into why renewables, firmed by storage, backed up by gas and connected with networks remains the least-cost and reliable pathway, and how today’s investments in rooftop solar, batteries, large-scale renewables and networks are already lining up with that plan.

And Nicola explores what’s changed since the last ISP, including technology costs, along with deeper analysis on gas supply infrastructure and distribution network cost to support further consumer energy resource benefits.

Read the Draft 2026 ISP here: https://bit.ly/3KBBcik
Media release: https://bit.ly/4rOf7hc
ISP Toolkit: https://bit.ly/48OgVOA
Infographic: https://bit.ly/3KXNkdC

Interviewer: Catie Low

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This week we released the 2025 Transition Plan for System Security (TPSS) and in our latest episode of AEMO On Air, Chris Davies, AEMO’s Group Manager – Future Energy Systems, unpacks what it means for Australia’s energy future.

As coal power stations continue to exit the power system, replacement system security services are needed to unlock the growing potential of renewable energy, including rooftop solar, to help deliver a smooth transition for consumers.

Chris also reflects on the renewable success story that is South Australia, and what its experience means for the rest of the National Electricity Market (NEM).

Read the full TPSS here: https://bit.ly/3XusYeC
Media Release: https://bit.ly/4rt4xMj

Interviewer: Jonathon Geddes

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Australia’s energy transition is accelerating and the next Integrated System Plan (ISP) will be central to guiding it.

In this episode of AEMO On Air, we speak with Nicola Falcon, Executive General Manager – System Design, about how the ISP is developed, why it matters, and why it’s increasingly the envy of countries without a comparable long-term plan to navigate their transition.

Nicola explains how the ISP provides a national roadmap for generation, storage and network investment through to 2050, built on more than a year of consultation with over 1,400 stakeholders and 240 submissions. She outlines what’s new in the Draft 2026 ISP, including expanded scope into distribution network opportunities and better integration with gas markets and how feedback has refined assumptions on consumer energy resources and infrastructure timing.

The Draft 2026 ISP will be released on Wednesday, 10 December 2025.

Interviewer: Catie Low

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