Research

Maintaining the gas sector’s excellent public safety record is paramount in the energy transition. In a time of great change, this study helps set industry on a path to keep this important achievement in place by identifying a firm foundation for management of public safety risk at all levels from policy and regulation, through industry and organisation, to workers. Its primary output is a review of public safety / system reliability assurance in emergent technologies and during major technology transitions.

A foundation for public safety risk management in the transition will be delivered in the form of a workshop and a report.

You can download the full Public Safety Assurance guide here.

Webinar 41: Public Safety Assurance in the Energy Transition

6 May 2025

Public safety assurance in the energy transition requires effective management of sociotechnical risk. This session, based on the outputs of RP2.3-08, introduces the SOTEC Framework – social, organizational, technical, epistemic and cultural sources of risk to explain what sociotechnical risks are, and how they might best be managed.

Past technology transition failures such as Chernobyl, Challenger, Titan, the pink bats insulation scheme and California’s energy policy have lessons for the energy transition that can be drawn out using SOTEC.

Speakers Prof Jan Hayes, RMIT, Prof Sarah Maslen, University of Canberra

Panel Michael Malavazos, South Australian Government and Craig Clarke, APA Group

This project will result in better public safety risk management during the transition by providing a common foundation for identification, discussion and management of specific risks as they emerge across regulators, industry, organisations, projects and individuals. This will provide the foundation for identifying and disseminating lessons from projects (via future projects).

Jeremy Harris

Research and Innovation Manager

jeremy.harris@futurefuelscrc.com