🎙️ Solar Sidekicks – AusNet Faces the Music

In this episode, Pat and Lauren head into the city to record from AusNet’s Southbank office, where they put Mary Masters in the hot seat.

Mary’s a familiar face to many in the industry — often seen on webinars and regularly fielding calls — and this time she’s in front of the mic, taking on the big questions around Victoria’s emergency backstop rollout.

No fluff here. Pat and Lauren bring the tough questions installers and retailers have been asking:
– Why was this rollout so rough?
– Why were installers left out of the conversation?
– What’s the go with the portal issues?
– Are DNSPs really listening?

To her credit, Mary doesn’t dodge a thing. She speaks openly about what went wrong, where AusNet’s still catching up, and what they’re doing to improve things. She also shares some behind-the-scenes insight on timelines, policy pressures, and what the future of flexible exports could look like.
Whether you’re frustrated, confused, or cautiously optimistic about the direction of solar in Victoria — this episode gives voice to what a lot of people are feeling.
Plus:
•    Legacy systems and the compliance grey zone
•    AusNet’s take on non-compliant installs
•    Why proper commissioning matters more than ever
•    What role DNSPs really play in a system shutdown

It’s honest, it’s occasionally blunt — and it’s the kind of conversation the industry needs more of.