PowerMaker Jumeka Saunders has won the South Australian Premier Award for her impact in the State's energy sector.

A PowerMakers participant from 2025, Jumeka is from Nipapanha community on Adnyamathanha Country.

She is currently working with her community to explore the feasibility of building a microgrid.

"Where we are in the Flinders Ranges, we're at the end of our line, right at the tip. So it's a lot more difficult to actually have reliable energy out there," says Jumeka.

"And we've got a lot of people, elders, kids, and ones with like medical problems and all out there, so to have affordable energy for them would be great."

Nipapanha sits at the outer edge of the National Electricity Market (NEM), supplied by a single 33 kV line from Copley, and has lived with repeated extended outages - including seven days without power after a storm destroyed 19 transmission towers in October 2024. 

Rather than wait for change, Jumeka went looking for it.

"I want to learn more about clean energy and how it can help our people and community," she said.

"Energy security for the Nipapanha community now and into the future is critically important." 

Jumeka completed PowerMakers 2025 with the First Nations Clean Energy Network, visited the Marlinja Community's microgrid in the Northern Territory, and worked with AGL and SA Power Networks to conduct an electricity meter audit across Nipapanha.

She was then awarded Energy Consumers Australia's Kelvin Trimpler Scholarship to lead a pilot community Energy Working Group building local energy literacy and supporting Nipapanha's path toward a community-owned solar microgrid.

Jumeka won the SA Premier Award this week for outstanding achievements and impact of individuals aged 30 years or younger in South Australia's energy or resources sector.

Congratulations Jumeka!!