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    Fortnightly Newsletter

    Behind the Meter

    The view from inside utility management.

    A personal, opinionated briefing on what's happening in utility management. Market moves, regulatory shifts, data patterns, and the things that matter to energy professionals — written by Cohen Robinson and published every two weeks.

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    Past Editions

    The ISP's real headline is the wind it can't see
    Behind the Meter #7
    3 min read

    The ISP's real headline is the wind it can't see

    Everyone quoted the 2026 ISP's 2050 numbers. The one that sets your forward price is smaller: only half the wind Australia needs by 2030 is visible to AEMO.

    Reliability stopped being a peak-demand problem
    Behind the Meter #6
    3 min read

    Reliability stopped being a peak-demand problem

    South Australia, the most renewable grid on the planet, ran short of reserve on a winter morning. Why reliability is now an hours-and-fuel problem, not a peak-demand one.

    Free midday power isn't generosity, it's a signal
    Behind the Meter #5
    5 min read

    Free midday power isn't generosity, it's a signal

    The AER's new Solar Sharer Offer mandates three hours of free midday power from 1 July. It's the first retail product built around a broken merit order.

    The gas reservation scheme everyone is reading wrong
    Behind the Meter #4
    4 min read

    The gas reservation scheme everyone is reading wrong

    The 20% domestic gas reservation is reported as price relief. By design, nothing material moves before 2027, and southern states get the smallest share.

    Behind the Meter #3: Batteries just took the price-setting crown
    Behind the Meter #3
    4 min read

    Behind the Meter #3: Batteries just took the price-setting crown

    Hydro set the NEM price for as long as the NEM has existed. Last quarter, batteries did it more often. Most contracts don't reflect that yet.

    The Grid Wasn't Built for This
    Behind the Meter #2
    4 min read

    The Grid Wasn't Built for This

    Data centres are about to face generator-style grid connection rules. Inside NSW's $52B pipeline, the NEM's pricing crisis, and the AER's moment.