The Integrated System Plan (ISP) plays an important role in enabling the energy system transition. But it should be doing more to make that transition faster, more efficient and less costly for households. Without being able to influence all elements of the energy system, the ISP can’t identify the lowest cost transition for energy users, which is its primary purpose.
That’s why we’ve recommended changes to prioritise households in our response to the Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) Draft 2026 Integrated System Plan, including:
- Increasing transparency and accuracy, including describing the optimal development pathway (ODP) as an optimal transmission pathway that only considers and compares transmission projects;
- removing potentially misleading claims about transmission projects that are said to represent ‘savings’ for consumers for the overall transition, and;
- adjusting the demand side factor (DSF) statement to consider the capacity of DSFs to replace or delay the need for network investments.
What’s next?
The final 2026 ISP is expected to be released around June 2026. The larger issues with the ISP can’t be resolved in this process. But we’ll keep pushing for progress, responding to the review of the ISP and submitting a proposal to change the rules to enable an ISP that better fulfils its purposes for consumers.
