Webinar: Making Informed Investment Decisions

Thursday, 5 November 2026
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM (GMT+8)

About the webinar 

Power grids across Asia-Pacific are entering an accelerating capital-intensive period. Power imports are expanding, renewables are scaling, and data centre demand is concentrating load in ways legacy planning models were never built for. In ASEAN, an estimated US$800 billion financing gap separates today’s infrastructure from regional interconnection ambitions; Australia and New Zealand are rebuilding networks for high renewables penetration under regulated investment cycles; Japan is reinforcing inter-regional transmission while renewing an ageing asset base. In each, network renewal, interconnection and AI-driven digitalisation compete for the same capital. For utilities, the decisive question is no longer whether to invest, but how to decide, defend and adapt those decisions as conditions shift beneath them.


 


Sponsored by

IFS

Discussion Focus

This webinar, sponsored by IFS Copperleaf, brings together utility leaders, investors and grid technology specialists to examine how capital investment decisions are made — and defended — amid grid modernisation, data centre load growth, cross-border interconnection and tightening regulatory scrutiny. The discussion moves from planning to defence: prioritising and sequencing investment across competing demands, funding modernisation through bankable projects and diversified capital, and building a governed, evidence-based case for capital plans. Perspectives span Australia, New Zealand, ASEAN and Japan, drawing out where these challenges converge and where they diverge.

 

How should utilities sequence investment across modernisation, interconnection and data centre-driven load growth?

How utilities weigh value, risk, cost and strategic objectives when ageing-infrastructure renewal, renewables/DER integration and sudden data centre and AI-driven load growth all compete for the same budget — and what a defensible, scenario-tested capital plan looks like in practice.

Where will the capital come  from, and how should it be prioritised when modernisation needs outstrip available funding?

Funding for grid modernisation and the trade-offs in allocating capital: tariff and rate-base constraints, regulated revenue determinations, blended and multilateral finance, private and project finance structures, and the policy harmonisation and capacity building needed to make projects bankable. Comparative perspectives from Australia, New Zealand, ASEAN and Japan.

As regulatory scrutiny intensifies, how can utilities govern assumptions and evidence their capital plans with confidence?

How utilities connect regulatory monitoring directly to investment assumptions, govern those assumptions, and respond to challenge with traceable, cited evidence rather than reconstructing rationale after the fact.

Program

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Meet the Speakers

 

 


Ed Northam

 

Agus Trisusanto
VP of Electricity Digitalisation
PT PLN

Agus Trisusanto is the Vice President of Digitalisation of Electricity with over 20 years of experience in the fields of Electricity, Retail, and Information and Communication Technology. He currently serves as the Vice President of Digitalisation of Electricity at PT PLN (Persero) – the State-Owned Electricity Company, where he leads the Digitalisation of Electricity division responsible for all aspects of digitalisation from generation, transmission, to distribution. 

Agus Trisusanto holds a Master's degree from the University of Abertay Dundee, The U.K. He is known for his keen interest in Smart Grids and Artificial Intelligence. Agus Trisusanto is also active in the Indonesian Smart Grid Initiative (PJCI) organization, where he serves as the Head Of Ev & Pv Rooftop Ecosystem Department. 


 

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Andrew Lewis
Executive General Manager Consumer, Markets & Analytics
Australian Energy Market Commission 

Andrew Lewis is an executive leader at the Australian Energy Market Commission with more than 20 years of experience across the energy sector, spanning strategy, policy reform and stakeholder engagement in government and industry. At the AEMC, he leads major market design reviews and rule changes, helping shape policy advice that supports decision-making and promotes the long-term interests of energy consumers. His current work includes wholesale and retail market reform, with a focus on consumer energy resources, consumer protection, future market design and reliability. He is known for leading complex reform programs, building strong teams, and turning strategic priorities into practical outcomes that keep consumers at the centre. Andrew brings a broad perspective shaped by senior roles in government agencies, ministerial offices, an energy peak body and market participant organisations, along with deep experience in market reform, regulatory development, consumer protection and technical regulation.

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Brad Hocking
Director Consulting Delivery APJ&MEA
IFS Copperleaf

Brad brings over 13 years of experience in reliability engineering, systems engineering, and asset management. He provides expertise and leadership on projects across a broad range of disciplines, including asset management, systems engineering, data analysis, software development, financial management, reliability engineering, and risk management. This breadth allows him to guide organisations through complex, multi-faceted asset challenges. Based in Adelaide, Australia, he leads Consulting Delivery for APJ&MEA at IFS Copperleaf, bringing this practical, multi-skilled approach to client engagements across the region.

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Yan Jie Loke
Vice President, Institutional Banking Group – Project Finance
DBS Bank

Yan Jie has over nine years of experience in project and structured finance, advising on and executing financings across infrastructure, renewable energy, metals, and oil and gas. He focuses on strengthening bankability, optimising risk allocation, developing robust financial models, and capital structures tailored to sponsors’ objectives. Notable transactions include financial advisory mandates for Singapore’s first floating storage and regasification unit, Indonesia’s first smart-meter installation programme, and mandated lead arranger for Singapore’s first hydrogen-ready combined-cycle gas power plant. He is also active on advisory mandates for cross-border infrastructure projects, including subsea interconnectors in the region. Before joining DBS in 2021, Yan Jie was a coverage banker serving large corporates across the transportation sector (aviation, shipping, land transport, and offshore services)

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Takeshi Fujiwara
Managing Director
Chugoku Electric Power Singapore

Takeshi Fujiwara is Managing Director of Chugoku Electric Power Singapore Pte. Ltd., where he is responsible for exploring business and investment opportunities in the power and energy sector across Asia. He has experience in the power industry, including overseas investment and business development. Based in Singapore, he is currently focused on energy transition opportunities in ASEAN, including power generation, renewable energy, battery storage, and grid infrastructure and stability.

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Moderator: 

Struan Buchanan
Partner
Deloitte Australia

Struan works with organisations to develop and execute strategies and business models that are resilient, adaptable and create value through disruption and uncertainty. He has worked across public and private sectors in Australia and North America and today spends most of his time working with asset-intensive infrastructure businesses across energy, utilities, resources and telecommunications. Struan leads the Future of Energy and Utilities work for Monitor Deloitte, helping senior leaders and organisations to better anticipate and respond to shifts in the market and external environment, with orchestrated agility and speed.