of investment in baseload capacity , whether nuclear or fossil fuel , fail to step back and consider wider macroeconomic models for network planning , he says . “ That is where I see Ergon playing a big role . We have the highest residential rooftop solar saturation on the planet climbing to 40 percent in our network , as against significantly less in the rest of Australia .” Hand in hand with this level of technical innovation goes the innovation opportunity for business model evolution , he adds . Ergon is currently merging with its long-term joint venture partner Energex , based in Townsville in the north of Queensland to create the largest network and energy operation in Australia .
The goal for the expanded company is to become what he calls an intelligent distributed network service provider ( DNSP ) that embraces digital solutions , big data and systems integration . In other words , while the grid will always be with us , and there are a host of ways to make it smarter , there has to be