Energy Networks Australia (ENA) hosted its annual Resilience and Bushfire Forums in Adelaide this week, drawing record attendance across both events.  

With the 2026/27 Australian summer approaching and bushfire risk evolving into a continuous, year-round operational reality, the forums showcased a sector moving rapidly from trial concepts to sophisticated, data-driven execution.   

Hosting the events in South Australia allowed local members SA Power Networks (SAPN) and ElectraNet to bring expanded cohorts and broaden their team exposure, setting a highly collaborative tone across four days of peer-to-peer knowledge sharing.   

ENA Resilience Forum 2026

Breaking Barriers in Cross-Sector Resilience 

A major highlight of the Resilience Forum was a welcomed session on energy and telecommunications collaboration.  

Featuring Ausgrid, Essential Energy, Endeavour Energy, Optus, and NBN Co, the session explored how NSW networks are establishing frameworks to enable real-time resilience coordination during extreme weather events and outages. 

ENA Bushfire Forum 2026

Practitioner-Led Bushfire Preparedness 

The Bushfire Forum stood out for its highly practical, practitioner-led focus. Attendees brought real-world experiences, operational dashboards and trends, and technical program data directly to the floor.   

Day 1 featured interactive Table Talk huddles, where experts from CPU and SAPN led discussions on REFCL operational experience and Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) concepts.  

Technology trials also dominated the agenda, with intense interest around LiDAR developments and uses, digital twin modelling, and AI-driven defect detection as well as reviews of field experience with bushfire-retardant intumescent coatings and inspection tools’ programs and trials.   

ENA Bushfire Forum 2026

The Value of Peer Collaboration 

Reflecting on the event, participants underscored that while technology is evolving rapidly, the true power of the forums lies in open, transparent collaboration.  

By sharing raw data, successes, and challenges, Australia’s energy networks are ensuring the whole sector matures together to protect communities and build a more resilient grid. 

Thank you to all our attendees, presenters, and session leads for bringing their data and expertise. A special thanks to Craig Savage for Chairing both forums.