Bruce Mountain
Director
Bruce is the inaugural Director of the Victoria Energy Policy Centre. He is a well-known Australian energy economist whose research and advisory work has focussed on the economic regulation of network monopolies, the analysis of retail energy markets, and the design of emission reduction and renewable energy policies. Bruce has been a long-standing advisor to governments, regulators, market participants and interest groups in Australia and internationally. His PhD from Victoria University was on the political economy of energy regulation in Australia, and he has a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cape Town and qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant in England.
A list of Bruce Mountain’s research and reports is available here.
Stephanie Rizio
Research Officer (currently on leave)
Stephanie received her Master of Business Economics from Monash University, Melbourne in 2013, and BEc/BA from La Trobe University, Melbourne in 2007. She is currently completing a PhD in social psychology at Melbourne University. Stephanie also has previous work experience in regulatory and taxation economics during her time as a research economist in the public sector.
Steven Percy
Senior Research Fellow
Steven received his Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from the University of Sydney in 2009. From 2009 to 2014, Steven worked as a research engineer at CSIRO, Energy in Newcastle, Australia. In 2018, Steven completed a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Melbourne. Since 2014, Steven has held research positions at IBM-Research and University of California, Berkeley, USA. His research focuses on applying electrical engineering, machine learning and optimisation techniques to model battery storage, electricity demand, electricity networks and microgrid systems.
Kelly Burns
Senior Research Fellow
Kelly is an internationally recognised energy economist with strong research linkages across Asia, North America and Europe. She has a multidisciplinary background in economics, finance and law, having obtained a PhD from RMIT in 2015, BEco (hons) and LLB (hons) from Latrobe University in 2002, and Graduate Diploma of Financial Planning (PS146) from FINSIA in 2008. Kelly also has several years’ experience in evidence-based policy making and advice for the Victorian public sector. Currently, her areas of expertise include energy modelling, renewable energy and energy policy, and she has a keen interest in energy transition.
Siobhan McCuskey
Administrative Officer
Siobhan has a business background and received her Diploma in Business in 2011. Siobhan has worked in administration roles, engaging with a range of stakeholders within the Education sector. Prior to this she has also worked at The University of Melbourne as a Research Assistant.