Background
Explaining the NEM Reform Program
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) asked Dream Engine to create an animated video explaining its National Electricity Market (NEM) Reform Program.
The program covers changes needed as Australia’s electricity system incorporates more renewable generation, battery storage and technologies such as rooftop solar and electric vehicles. The video introduces the reforms to government and industry audiences, explaining what they involve and how they fit together.
Our work included script development, visual design, animation and narration.
The challenge
Explaining changes to the electricity market
The subject went well beyond how electricity gets from a power station to a home. It included changes to market systems, the way participants share data, and the services that help keep electricity supply stable.
An overview needed to explain how these reforms relate to everyday concerns, such as using stored energy when it’s needed and managing changes in supply and demand. It also needed to retain the technical meaning without assuming every viewer already understood the program.
Why animation suited the subject
Footage of power stations, solar panels and transmission lines can show the physical electricity network. On its own, it does little to explain the market arrangements and systems behind it.
Animation gave us a way to draw those connections. We could place households, batteries and other energy resources in the same diagram, then use arrows and movement to show how they relate to the wider market.
It also allowed the pictures to develop alongside the narration. Each part of the explanation could appear as it was discussed, rather than asking viewers to take in a detailed diagram all at once.
For this subject, that ability to show relationships and introduce information in sequence was central to the choice of animation.
The action
What the animation shows
The video begins with the energy transition, then introduces the different areas of reform and examples of what they involve.
In the section on consumer energy resources, illustrations of homes, rooftop solar, batteries and an electric vehicle appear beside a map of the National Electricity Market. Arrows connect these familiar technologies to the wider system while the narration explains their integration.
Another section uses a frequency gauge between electricity supply and demand to illustrate the need to keep the system in balance. This gives viewers a visual reference for a concept that would be difficult to explain through footage alone.
Later, the video describes the February 2024 Victorian storms and the role of rapid frequency response following damage to transmission infrastructure. The illustrated sequence connects a technical reform to a real event.
The result
The finished video
The finished animation runs for approximately four and a half minutes. It takes viewers from the reasons for the reform program through to specific projects and examples, then directs them to AEMO for further information.
The combination of narration, diagrams and illustrated examples gives AEMO a single introduction to a subject that spans several technologies and areas of market reform.
Planning an animated explainer?
Tell us what you need to explain, who the video is for and where you plan to use it. You don’t need a finished script to get started. We can help you work out whether animation suits the subject and what the video should cover.
