Solar Sidekicks Podcast
Solar Sidekicks is the go-to podcast for all things solar, serving up essential insights with a friendly, down-to-earth vibe. Hosted by industry professional Pat Southwell and his co-host Lauren Ciconte, each episode explores technical topics, industry regulations, and the real-world challenges faced by solar installers across Australia.
Together they share practical knowledge from the field, tackle important issues affecting the industry, and stand up for what’s right by helping voices be heard on topics that can hit solar installers hard. They also highlight some of the great people working in the industry and help listeners stay across the constant changes in this fast-evolving sector.
Whether you’re a solar installer, apprentice, or simply interested in solar, Solar Sidekicks keeps you informed, connected, and up to date with what’s happening in the industry.
Solar Sidekicks Podcast
S2E8 - United Energy, Powercor and CitiPower
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Backstop Breakdown: United Energy, Powercor, CitiPower Respond
This week on Solar Sidekicks, Pat and Lauren are joined by Charmaine Volpe and Andrew Bailey from United Energy, Powercor and CityPower for a deep-dive into Victoria’s Emergency Backstop Mechanism. What went wrong, what’s improving, and why it matters.
Charmaine and Andrew open up about the rollout headaches, the harsh realities of implementation, and what they’ve learned from thousands of installer calls. We dig into compliance, installer frustrations, and how DNSPs are tackling the solar surge head-on—plus, Lauren shares a few stories from the frontlines.
It’s an honest, insightful, and surprisingly optimistic look at one of the biggest shakeups in solar. If you’re an installer, a manufacturer, or just trying to keep your solar game strong, this one’s essential.