The Panel is comprised of members who represent a range of participants in the national electricity market, including consumer groups, generators, network businesses, retailers and the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).

Panel members are selected on the basis of their direct interests in the reliability of electricity supply and the process set out under the National Electricity Rules (NER). Consideration is also given to balancing Panel membership representation according to geographical location and participating jurisdictions.

The AEMC appoints members to the Panel for a period of up to three years. Members are appointed in consultation with industry, end use consumers and consumer groups.

Members who are appointed to represent ‘Registered Participants’ must be agreed to by at least one third of the category of Registered Participant they represent (for example, generator, market customer, network service provider).

The NER require that the Panel is comprised of the following membership:

  • An AEMC Commissioner (appointed for three years);
  • The Chief Executive Officer or delegate of AEMO;
  • Four members that represent Registered Participants including:
    • Generators;
    • Market Customers;
    • Transmission Network Service Providers (TNSP);
    • Distribution Network Service Providers (DNSP);
  • A person representing the interests of end use customers for electricity.

The AEMC has some discretion to appoint up to three members who may have expertise in areas that are not otherwise represented by other Panel members.

Current panel members

Mr Charles Popple (Chair)

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Organisation: Chair and AEMC Commissioner

Market segment: AEMC

Mr Popple, Commissioner at the AEMC, has spent more than four decades in the energy network sector. In the 1990s he played a significant role in the development of the National Electricity Market including reform of the network sector and the implementation of transmission system planning and pricing arrangements. He has also held management roles with Victorian Power Exchange, VENCorp, SPI PowerNet and SP AusNet. As a consultant, his focus was on energy markets and regulatory arrangements, with a view to achieving a balance between security, environmental challenges, and competitive pricing and products for energy consumers. Charles has a Bachelor of Engineering from Monash University and a Master of Engineering Science in power system engineering from the University of Melbourne.

Term expiry: 16 Feb 2023

Stephen Clark

Organisation: Project Director - Marinus Link, TasNetworks

Market segment: Transmission Network Service Providers

Mr Clark, Project Director - Marinus Link at TasNetworks, is the transmission network service provider representative on the Panel. Mr Clark is responsible for the engineering and project delivery of Marinus Link a 1500 MW HVDC interconnector between Tasmania and Victoria. He has 30 years experience in the electricity sector and has held executive management positions responsible for transmission system planning, asset management and project delivery.

Term expiry: 17 Dec 2024

Craig Memery

Organisation: Project team leader – Energy + Water Consumer’s Advocacy Program, PIAC

Market segment: End use customer of electricity

Craig Memery has represented energy users for the last decade, and now leads the PIAC’s Energy and Water Consumer Advocacy Program. The program promotes access to affordable, sustainable energy and water for NSW households, through improvements in policy, regulation and markets that benefit all energy users and targeted supporting measures for people facing hardship and disadvantage. Mr Memery is also a board member of the Energy & Water Ombudsman NSW and Chair of the Australian Energy Regulator’s Consumer Reference Group.

Term expiry: 30 Jun 2023

Keith Robertson

Organisation: General Manager Regulatory Policy, Origin Energy

Market segment: Market customers

Keith Robertson is the General Manager Regulatory Policy at Origin Energy. Mr Robertson is responsible for advocating for effective wholesale, retail and environmental market regulations at Origin Energy. He has over 20 years of experience in the energy sector and has held senior positions in strategy and development, energy trading and sales and marketing.

Term expiry: 31 Dec 2022

Ken Harper

Organisation: Group Manager Operational Support, AEMO

Market segment: AEMO

Ken Harper is Group Manager - Operational Support at AEMO, responsible for operational forecasting, planning power system operations up to seven days ahead, congestion and grid modelling, and training of gas and electricity operators. He has more than 25 years’ experience in developing, analysing and operating energy trading operations, having worked at Marsden Jacob Associates, Alinta Energy, Delta Electricity, Snowy Hydro, Red Energy and EnergyAustralia.

Term expiry: N/A

Ken Woolley

Organisation: Executive Director Merchant Energy, Alinta Energy

Market segment: Generators

Ken Woolley is the Executive Director Merchant Energy at Alinta Energy and a Director of Latrobe Valley Power. Mr Woolley is responsible for power generation asset management and operations, wholesale gas, electricity and renewable trading functions and power development at Alinta Energy. He has more than two decades of experience in the energy sector, including roles as Executive Director Power Generation at Alinta Energy and General Manager Power Development at AGL Energy. Mr Woolley holds a Bachelor of Engineering from Monash University and is a Fellow of the Institute of Engineers.

Term expiry: 30 May 2023

Joel Gilmore

Organisation: General Manager Energy Policy & Planning, Iberdrola Australia

Market segment: Discretionary 

Dr Joel Gilmore is the General Manager Energy Policy & Planning at Iberdrola Australia, with over a decade of experience in market design, market modelling, and technical and economic analysis of integrating renewable energy into the grid. In addition to engaging on policy design, he also leads Iberdrola’s long-term market modelling team and develops business cases for both renewable and firming assets. He was previously a Senior Manager at EY/ROAM Consulting, managing projects such as modelling and design for the Victorian Renewable Energy Target, and has held roles with Queensland Government and AEMO. Joel is also an Adjunct Associate Professor at Griffith University Business School, has published in international peer-reviewed journals in both physics and energy, and is a passionate science communicator across a range of media.

Term expiry: 17 December 2024

Peter Price

Organisation: Head of Corporate Strategy and Executive General Manager Asset Safety and Performance at Energy Queensland

Market segment: Distribution Network Service Providers

Peter Price is the Head of Corporate Strategy and Executive General Manager Asset Safety and Performance at Energy Queensland. Peter is responsible for leading Energy Queensland’s engineering and asset management strategies, which includes the safe and efficient management of the Group’s electricity distribution networks.

Prior to joining Energy Queensland, Peter was a member of Energex’s executive management team for ten years. His career with Energex included managing and leading capital planning and program delivery, asset management, procurement, regulatory issues and the growth of new commercial businesses. 

Term expiry: 31 September 2024

 

Gabrielle Kuiper

Market segment: Discretionary

Dr. Gabrielle Kuiper has been appointed to represent distributed energy resources, demand response and new business models as a discretionary representative to the Panel. Dr Kuiper is a Senior Adviser to the Smart Energy Council, DER Specialist and a Guest Contributor at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA).

Gabrielle is an energy, sustainability and climate change professional with over twenty years’ experience in the corporate world, government and non-government organisations and academia. She was previously the DER Strategy Specialist with the Energy Security Board. Prior to that Gabrielle held senior executive or senior advisory energy-related positions in the Office of the Australian Prime Minister, at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) and in the NSW Government.
 

Term expiry: 19 September 2023

Melissa Perrow

Organisation: General Manager Energy at Brickworks Limited

Market segment: Discretionary

Melissa is the General Manager Energy at Brickworks Limited. She is responsible for managing the energy needs as a large user of electricity and gas. Melissa has 20 years of wholesale energy trading experience gained across electricity, gas, carbon and green markets having previously worked for Origin Energy and AGL. She holds a Bachelor in Applied Science, a Bachelor of Business, a Graduate Diploma in Technology and a Post Graduate Certificate in Applied Finance

Term expiry: 31 September 2024