Sustainable Grid and Energy Solutions Working Group

About the Sustainable Grid and Energy Solutions Working Group

To give a voice to our customers and communities across Queensland, Energy Queensland has established the Energy Queensland Customer and Community Council (the Council) and its associated Working Groups.

The Sustainable Grid and Energy Solutions Working Group has a key focus on facilitating breadth and depth of discussions on key topics and issues relating to Ergon Energy Network and Energex's strategies and business operations. It plays a critical role in ensuring customer and community perspectives help influence business decisions. The Working Group will focus on more specific issues and industry challenges as outlined in the scope for the Sustainable Grid and Energy Solutions Working Group, which can be found on page seven of the Energy Queensland Customer and Stakeholder Engagement Framework.

Role of the Working Group

Our Working Group members bring a strong interest in the energy sector and play a vital role of constructively 'testing and challenging' and collaborating with us and other organisations to advance the interest of customers and communities.

Customer and energy industry expertise — provide an opportunity for customers and stakeholders to offer their expertise and insights on energy industry matters, emerging trends, and customer and community expectations to strengthen customer-centric decision making on the topics and issues within the scope of each Working Group.

Test and challenge — provide independent, constructive feedback on Ergon Energy Network and Energex's strategies, operations, initiatives, and investments relating to the topics and issues within scope of the Working Group to ensure they align with customer and community needs and expectations.

Consensus-based advice/recommendations — collaborate and consider different opinions and where relevant and possible, explore trade-offs to develop consensus positions so that advice and recommendations can be made to Ergon Energy Network and Energex on the topics and issues within the scope of the Working Group to maximise opportunities for Working Group members to influence business thinking and decisions.

Reporting — share deliberations and findings of each Working Group through verbal and/or written briefings and reports with the Council and other engagement forums when requested to maximise knowledge sharing opportunities and inform additional discussions and engagements.

Advise on customer research, communication and engagement activities — provide input into research, communication and engagement activities, such as research required to obtain customer insights (including customer trials), customer and stakeholder engagement activities, and communication activities and materials to ensure each are 'fit-for-purpose’ and take account of the diverse needs and specific requirements of Ergon Energy Network and Energex's diverse customer base.

Leverage networks — gather feedback, test insights, and validate perspectives through members’ respective organisations and networks to ensure customer and community voices are accurately represented in discussions and maximise opportunities for increasing customer awareness by distributing information from Ergon Energy Network and Energex.

Our Members

Kaneya Poudal Engagement and Policy Lead First Nations Clean Energy Network First Nations Clean Energy Network is made up of First Nations people, groups, community organisations, land councils, unions, academics, industry groups, technical advisors, legal experts, renewables companies and others - working in partnership to ensure that First Nations share in the benefits of Australia’s clean energy transition. The Network is led by a Steering Group of First Nations leaders and has over 1400 First Nations members (comprising organisations and individuals) and thousands of other supporters. As a national, First Nations-led coalition, the Network aims to enable and empower First Nations to participate in, benefit from, respond to, and shape clean energy projects that impact their communities, land, waters and Sea Country.

Estella Rodighiero Chief Executive Officer Regional Development Australia-Gold Coast Part of a national network of 50 committees, Regional Development Australia (RDA) Gold Coast acts as a catalyst for positive change, leveraging its unique position at the intersection with all levels of governments, industry and community. As part of RDA Queensland, a collective of 10 RDA Queensland committees, RDA Gold Coast contributes to addressing statewide development priorities, advocating for place-based outcomes, and delivering cross-regional initiatives.

Neil Horrocks Independent Neil Horrocks has more than 30 years of energy industry experience across the electricity and gas sectors including roles in retail, distribution and asset management. Neil is passionate about innovation that drives our energy transformation and is highly experienced collaborating with industry and academia in this pursuit. Neil is particularly interested in the opportunities that our digital world is creating to optimise the transition and has worked in projects in big data energy analytics, artificial intelligence, gamified behaviour change and optimised load control projects. Neil currently is the Networks Program Leader for RACE for 2030 where he works with networks and leading universities across Australia to explore new opportunities for customer participation in tomorrow’s electricity sector. He also Chairs the Customer and Community Reference Group at Urban Utilities.

Sue Sheppard Independent Sue serves as an Emerging Industries Business Development Manager at TAFE Queensland and is located at SkillsTech’s Acacia Ridge campus where she leads engagement with community and industry to inform product design and development. Sue has over 30 years’ experience in the electrical industry, completing her electrical apprenticeship in 1986. After gaining experience in a variety of areas Sue went on to train electrical apprentices for seven years at TAFE Queensland, before moving into vocational education and training compliance as a senior lead auditor. Sue spent several years as General Manager at a private electrical RTO before returning to TAFE Queensland. Sue is passionate about women in trade and is on the Women on Tools committee with the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC). Sue is also on a number of Industry committees, including Electrical safety Office education committee, Powering skills technical committee and Buildskills technical committee. Sue is also Co-chair of the National TAFE Hydrogen group.

Mark Purcell Independent Mark Purcell AM is an electrical engineer and experienced systems strategist with a career spanning engineering, policy, and national infrastructure. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his contributions to national service and brings to the energy sector a deep understanding of how technology, markets, and regulation intersect. Mark is passionate about advancing a fair and efficient energy transition that places customers at the centre of decision-making. In recent years, Mark has focused on enabling households to participate more actively in the energy system. He has developed and tested integrated home energy management solutions that leverage smart automation, battery storage, electric vehicles and dynamic electricity pricing to reduce costs and emissions. Through practical application of platforms such as Home Assistant and integration with real-time market data, Mark has demonstrated how everyday households can become intelligent, flexible energy participants. Mark is a strong advocate for policies and technologies that support consumer agency, transparency, and innovation. He contributes to working groups and advisory panels with a focus on ensuring that the energy transition delivers benefits to all customers—particularly in unlocking the value of distributed energy resources and demand-side flexibility. His insights help bridge the gap between technical capability and user-friendly energy outcomes.

Emily Gadaleta Senior Energy Policy Advisor Tesla Emily Gadaleta is a Senior Energy Policy Advisor at Tesla, bringing over eight years of experience in energy policy. She specialises in emerging regulations in residential energy, focusing on the evolving landscape of energy retail regulation amidst increasing penetrations of Customer Energy Resources (CER). Prior to her role at Tesla, Emily worked at AGL, where she navigated the risks and opportunities presented by the changing nature of energy retail regulation.