Energy Source & Distribution sits down with the Australian Energy Market Commission’s Anna Collyer, who was recently reappointed as chair for another five-year term.
Anna Collyer has witnessed more than two decades of transformational change in Australia’s energy sector, but her career spans some 33 years, beginning with her appointment as a lawyer and senior associate with Allens’ predecessor firm Arthur Robinson & Hedderwicks.
It was there that she was introduced to the energy sector “entirely by accident”.
“Our firm was acting for a bidder in the Victorian Government’s first sales as part of its electricity privatisation. I happened to have spare capacity, and a colleague working on the deal was desperately looking for an extra pair of hands to review all the brand-new regulatory instruments and sector contracts, advising the bidder on what they all meant,” Collyer recalls.
The fledgling legal eagle immediately became the firm’s energy expert.
“I found the new concepts and their application fascinating. An added bonus was that, as a young female solicitor, I was able to take a lot of confidence that I knew as much as any of the more experienced practitioners sitting around the table.”
When the firm was appointed as part of a legal consortium to advise the South Australian Government on its privatisation program, Collyer was given the opportunity to lead several workstreams that established new regulatory instruments to support the transition to private sector ownership.
Working with a diverse group of experts, including economists, accountants, engineers, bankers, consumer advocates, and others, she developed a cohesive approach to solving problems by considering all perspectives—a professional trait that would carry through to her appointment as chair of the Australian Energy Market Commission in February 2021. In this role she also served as a member and then chair of the Energy Security Board (now the Energy Advisory Panel).
Collyer was recently reappointed for a further five-year term as AEMC chair.
Asked about this, she says, “I’m thrilled. We spent some time in 2025 redefining our organisational values, which resonate strongly with my personal values: Solve it together; Do hard things; Own our part and Lead with heart. We’ll work to give practical meaning to these values in the way AEMC conducts its business, both internally and externally, to continually improve our contribution to the energy transformation. We are constantly grappling with the tension between going too fast and going too slowly, and seeking to be strategic in where we spend our time and effort, and that of our stakeholders.”
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Two decades of energy transformation
Collyer has been party to some truly watershed moments in Australia’s energy transition. Among the most significant of these has been the democratisation of energy generation—the shift from a handful of large, centralised fossil fuel power stations to millions of distributed energy resources across the country.
“When I started in the mid-1990s during Victoria’s privatisation, we had what we thought were ‘technology-neutral’ market rules,” she says.
“But those rules simply described the world as it existed then—large synchronous generators feeding into a relatively simple grid. Today, we have 4 million households with rooftop solar out of a population of 27 million. South Australia can now power its entire state demand from rooftop solar on some days. This is genuinely world-leading; the International Energy Agency ranked South Australia as a four out of five on integrating variable renewables, with Australia overall at three. That’s ahead of most developed nations.”
Another pivotal change, Collyer says, has been the growing recognition that customers must be at the centre of the transition, not just passive recipients of energy.
The AEMC’s recent Residential Electricity Price Trends report highlighted the need for speed in building renewables generation, transmission and battery storage to keep electricity prices down.
“The ‘energy wallet’ concept we explored in our recent price trends work shows households can save up to 90% on combined electricity, gas, and petrol costs through electrification—but several barriers still hinder households from electrifying, including high upfront costs, limited access to EV chargers, and restrictions on installing solar and/or batteries. This equity challenge represents one of our most critical issues moving forward,” she explains.
The report identified several interconnected challenges.
“First, there’s the sheer scale and pace of investment required. We need to essentially rebuild electricity generation, and accommodate new demand, all while maintaining reliability and stability—it’s like changing the engine of an airplane while flying it,” Collyer says of the logistical challenges.
“We highlighted three particular policy areas in the report to assist in the pace of deployment of large-scale infrastructure: investment certainty, which is critical to attracting the required capital to the sector; environment and planning approvals processes that balance competing considerations and provide timely outcomes; and the importance of gaining social licence in regional communities hosting new infrastructure.
“From a policy perspective, addressing these challenges requires coordinated action across multiple fronts. Work underway includes the next stage of design in the Independent Review into Wholesale Market Settings, EPBC Act reform and development of priority project lists for state approvals and the recommendations of the Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner.
“Our role at the AEMC is to ensure the market rules evolve to enable this transition efficiently while keeping consumer interests at the forefront on price, reliability, security, safety, and emissions reduction.”
Priorities for 2026 and beyond
Collyer says the AEMC’s priorities for this year and beyond build on the strategic narrative developed looking toward 2050. Four key focus areas for 2026 include:
Customers and consumer energy resources: “With 4 million households now having solar and rapid uptake of batteries and EVs expected, we need rules that enable these resources to benefit both their owners and the broader system. This includes developing frameworks for virtual power plants, smart charging, and demand response,” Collyer says.
The gas transition: “This is more complex than the coal transition. We need gas now for firming renewable generation, but demand for certain uses is already declining. We have an opportunity to manage this transition better than we did with coal, learning from those experiences.”
Future market design: “Our market rules need to evolve from supporting a small number of large generators to coordinating millions of distributed resources, new storage technologies, and flexible demand. This evolution must happen incrementally to maintain system stability while enabling innovation.”
Network regulation: “Distribution and transmission networks are transforming from passive delivery infrastructure to active platforms enabling the energy transition. We need to ensure our regulatory frameworks appropriately reward this new value they’re creating.”
AEMC is also closely eyeing data centres and the energy requirements of artificial intelligence as an emerging challenge.
“Ireland provides a cautionary tale,” Collyer says.
“They had to pause new data centre connections because energy demand threatened to overwhelm their grid. We need frameworks that embrace economic opportunities while managing grid impacts.
“Throughout all of this, the pace of change itself presents a challenge. Industry stakeholders are being asked to contribute to multiple consultation processes across various policy makers and regulators while managing their own businesses through this transition. We’re working to be more strategic about how we package our work programs and prioritise where we spend our time.”
These challenges will form part of the discussion at the upcoming EN26 Conference & Exhibition in Adelaide from March 17-19, where Collyer will be a plenary panellist.
The conference brings together the full spectrum of network businesses, regulators, policymakers, and technology providers at a critical time for the sector.
“I expect we’ll discuss how networks are evolving from what has traditionally been a relatively stable, predictable business model to one requiring significant innovation and investment under considerable uncertainty,” Collyer says.
“Our distribution and transmission networks are doing far more than simply delivering electricity from point A to point B—they’re managing two-way energy flows, integrating storage, taking additional system security responsibilities and enabling new business models. The regulatory frameworks that govern these monopoly networks were designed for a simpler world. We’ll likely explore how regulatory frameworks can better support this transformation while protecting consumers.
“The conversations I value most at these events are the ones that bring diverse perspectives together. Network businesses working at the coalface of the transition have insights that inform better policy. Having these conversations publicly helps build broader understanding of both the opportunities and trade-offs we face.”
Developing strong female leads
Collyer serves as one of five Australian Ambassadors to the Equality in Energy Transitions Initiative—a collaboration of 13 countries under the International Energy Agency and Clean Energy Ministerial, aiming to close the gender gap in clean energy by 2030.
“Energy is the third most male-dominated sector in Australia after mining and construction,” Collyer says.
“Women represent only 29% of the electricity workforce, 34% of gas, and around 30% of manager roles in both. This isn’t just an equity issue—it’s an economic and practical imperative. We simply cannot scale at the pace required or solve our complex problems without tapping into the full breadth and diversity of the available talent pool.”
A significant roadblock to achieving Australia’s decarbonisation objectives is workforce capacity. By 2033, the sector needs 31,000 more electrical engineers, 27,500 more electricians, and 10,000 more electrical distribution trades workers.
“This is a global shortage, not just an Australian one,” Collyer points out.
“The sector’s significant gender imbalance represents low-hanging fruit. The changing face of the sector means we also need to access skilled workers across disciplines where women are more traditionally represented, including customer and community-facing roles. And the complexity of the transformation itself demands diversity. Australian Diversity Council research shows that diverse teams are more likely to develop novel solutions to problems when working effectively together.
“Strong female leadership representation matters because you can’t be what you can’t see. My mother was an accountant in the 1960s and 70s when few women worked in professional careers. She was a gentle, quietly spoken person who went about doing her job because she loved it. Having that role model shaped my belief that you can have a career and be who you are.
“I’ve seen concerted effort make a difference in the legal sector. When I started at Allens, there were two female partners. Today, women represent 40% of the partnership—the result of sustained action over time. I’m optimistic we can achieve similar change in energy, particularly in renewable energy where we’re already seeing better gender representation in newer companies that had to build their culture from scratch.”
Through her ambassador role, Collyer has focused particularly on connecting with organisations working on STEM education for girls; motivating young women by talking about clean energy careers and addressing climate change to open new pathways.
“But we also need to ensure workplaces are ready to welcome and retain them—eliminating harassment and discrimination, offering family-friendly policies that are gender-neutral, and addressing unconscious bias in hiring, promotion, and pay decisions,” she explains.
“The competitive nature of energy companies can actually work in our favour here. The recent publication of gender pay gaps by major employers puts pressure on CEOs to act. There’s only so long you can maintain a mea culpa stance before stakeholders expect tangible results.”
Asked about mentors who helped shape her own career, Collyer says, “I’ve had the great fortune of working with and being mentored by many inspiring leaders. Two general observations I would offer are that, now I’m in a position to provide mentoring to others navigating their career, I see what a great honour it is to be asked and understand why people give their time so generously.
“I also believe that good leadership comes in so many different forms—there is definitely
no one-size-fits-all approach to being a great leader.
“When I was making my way through the ranks at the law firm I had one particular senior partner in the energy policy space, Paul Kenny, who took an interest in my career development. Through observing how he went about his work, I learned a lot about balancing empowerment and providing a strong safety net when leading others—allowing people to really take ownership of their work, but at the same time, being fully present in the work when needed.
“He also exemplified how to get the most out of genuine consultation—encouraging me to always listen for what may be surprising views or suggestions—as those left-field or unexpected ideas can be where you break through to new thinking. We worked together on the Victorian implementation of full retail competition and then on early work on the National Energy Customer Framework, which grounded my knowledge in those areas.
“When I first started in my role as chair at the AEMC, Kerry Schott was the independent chair of the Energy Security Board. I already admired Kerry for her ability to speak plainly and sensibly in a challenging political environment, and to make progress in a hotly contested set of issues.
“The shift from a law firm partner to a public sector leadership role was even bigger than I imagined, and I was grateful that Kerry was happy to spend time with me, after her retirement from the ESB, talking about how she approached issues and situations so I could learn how to work with my own style more effectively in this new environment.”
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On the home front
Collyer and her husband, James, have a daughter and son together—both now finished school. It’s a new era for the family.
“I’m not sure what that looks like yet, but my husband, who has been a stay-at-home dad for 20 years, and the glue that holds everything together, is on the lookout for new projects,” Anna says.
“I will be aiming to improve my time from last year’s Mother’s Day fun run while raising money for excellent causes, and in the spirit of keeping fit and healthy.”
The family shares a love of music and sport, and are staunch Hawthorn supporters.
“As a born and bred Victorian, I follow the AFL and AFLW with a passion and, to my great delight, my teenage daughter discovered Aussie Rules a few years ago,” Collyer says.
“We now go to games together, including road trips for interstate finals, which has been one of my favourite things ever. Promisingly, she’s now showing a growing interest in cricket as well.
“I’ve been taking singing lessons for a few years, which hasn’t resulted in an Australia’s Got Talent kind of voice, but I can hold a karaoke tune,” she laughs.
“The shift from working in the evening to doing some singing practice really gives me a mental break. My son is quite musical and plays the keyboard, as well as both acoustic and electric guitar. I’m trying to convince him to accompany me singing, but at the moment it seems our musical tastes are a little too far apart.”
