The challenge

Review of Victoria’s transmission connection process

The client plays a critical role by managing and overseeing electricity and gas systems and markets across Australia. This includes operational, planning, and development responsibilities across the National Electricity Market (NEM), the Wholesale Electricity Market (WEM) in Western Australia, and the Victorian gas transmission network. The client is also responsible for overseeing electricity transmission network connection applications in Victoria.

To ensure consistency, transparency, and efficiency, the client initiated a review of the Victorian transmission connection process. The goal was to benchmark it against connection practices in the rest of the NEM and identify any inefficiencies or improvement opportunities.

Our solution

Baseline of the connections process and subsequent testing with key stakeholders

We partnered closely with the client’s technical staff and management to:

• Map the Victorian Connection Process: Developed a detailed baseline of the end-to-end process, breaking down each stage and identifying potential inefficiencies.
• Engage Stakeholders: Validated the process and identified issues through consultations with other NEM-based Transmission Network Service Providers (TNSPs) and project proponents.
• Prioritise Issues: Collected and rated issues based on feedback from the client, TNSPs, and proponents to understand their impact and urgency.

Our impact

A clear view of the Victorian transmission connection process, with prioritised improvement opportunities

Rennie delivered a comprehensive compendium of issues and improvement opportunities, providing the client with a clear foundation for further analysis and reform. This work enhanced visibility into the Victorian connection process and created a shared understanding of where and how improvements could be made.

Key insights

• Clear documentation of the end-to-end connection process is essential for identifying inefficiencies.
• Stakeholder engagement across jurisdictions provides valuable comparative insights.
• Rating issues from multiple perspectives helps prioritise reform efforts.
• A structured compendium of issues enables targeted, data-driven improvements.