The companies that run Australia’s electricity distribution networks, including Endeavour Energy, AusNet Services and Citipower/Powercor, need to be held accountable for making rooftop solar work as a key part of the energy transition, a landmark report said.

The federal government’s key energy adviser, the Energy Security Board, said the role of distribution companies, which are largely foreign-owned, must be radically overhauled to make them accountable for integrating consumer energy resources into the grid to deliver a lower-cost transition to clean, reliable energy.