Australia’s electricity sector is moving through a once-in-a-generation infrastructure shift. Coal retirements, growing renewable generation, consumer energy resources, electrification and rising demand from data centres are changing how utilities plan, deliver and operate networks.
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) found renewable energy sources supplied 46.5 per cent of all electricity in the National Electricity Market in the first quarter of 2026 – representing a first quarter record. AEMO has also identified the need for around 6000km of new transmission to be built by 2050.
Across Asia Pacific (APAC), the challenge is similar: deliver more energy infrastructure, faster, while improving affordability, reliability and resilience. The International Energy Agency describes this as a new “Age of Electricity”, driven by electrification, air conditioning, industry and data centres. For Australian utilities, that means digital capability is no longer just an internal efficiency program, it is becoming central to project delivery, asset performance and customer outcomes.
Autodesk’s recent utilities and telecom research points to the same direction. In its State of Design & Make utilities and telecom subset, the top reported benefits of digital transformation were customer satisfaction, reduced costs and productivity. Digitally mature organisations were also more likely to report stronger performance, preparedness and investment growth.
At the same time, leaders identified technology advancement, cost control and talent as major organisational challenges, with AI skills, software development and digital project management among future hiring priorities. Read the full report here.
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A practical starting point is better design coordination
While many transmission, distribution, substation and renewable connection projects still rely on fragmented drawings, disconnected reviews and manual handovers, Autodesk’s electric utility solutions are positioned around integrated BIM, CAD, GIS-connected workflows, real-time monitoring and lifecycle asset management, helping utilities improve reliability, efficiency, safety and sustainability. Tools such as AutoCAD, Revit, Civil 3D, InfraWorks, Vault, Forma, and Tandem support different stages of this lifecycle, from planning and detailed design through construction, operations and maintenance.
For the Australian market, the value is in reducing rework on complex capital programs, enabling multidisciplinary teams to collaborate from a shared source of truth, and improving confidence that field teams, designers, EPCs, asset owners and regulators are working from current information.
Highlighting the role of common data environments in replacing scattered drawings and emails with an authoritative project repository, Autodesk notes that BIM models hosted in a common data environment (CDE) can support real-time coordination across disciplines.
The next phase is operational
Digital twins can connect design and asset data with live operational information, giving utilities a clearer view of infrastructure performance. Autodesk describes digital twins as virtual representations of physical utility assets and systems, integrating real-time sensor and IoT data to optimise operations, predict maintenance needs and support renewable integration. This is particularly relevant as Australian utilities manage ageing infrastructure alongside new distributed and utility-scale assets.
The lesson for the sector is measured but clear: digital maturity can help utilities move from reactive problem-solving to proactive infrastructure management. As the grid becomes more distributed, data-rich and capital-intensive, the organisations best placed to deliver will be those that connect design, construction and operations in a single digital thread.
Learn more here.
