The winners of the 2019 Digital Utility Awards have been revealed at a Gala Dinner at the Digital Utilities Conference in Melbourne. Six awards were handed out celebrating the utility industry’s greatest achievements in the digitisation of utility networks, processes and practices across Australia. The winners are: Best Customer Innovation Award - Jemena Best Use of New Technology Award - [...]
Trying to out-fox criminals is a demanding challenge, and while being open and transparent with security sounds counterintuitive, Jemena’s Operational Delivery Risk Manager, Justin Morghem, insists this type of collaboration and cooperation makes corporations and communities more resilient to crime.
The Victorian Government will contribute $980,000 towards the Ovida Community Energy Hub project, as part of the Labor Government’s statewide Microgrid Demonstration Initiative. The $2 million Ovida project will install shared solar PV and battery systems in three buildings in Melbourne to help cut energy costs for tenants. The initiative will benefit approximately 650 customers, generate 5000kWh of solar energy [...]
by Simon Vardy, Managing Director, Accenture Australia Utilities Strategy Practice The threat of cyber attacks on power infrastructure is a cause of global concern, with their critical systems a prime target for cyber attackers to inflict serious damage and disruption. In the past twelve months, hackers have breached the networks of energy providers in Germany, Ukraine and the US using [...]
by Col Muller, Business Continuity and Resilience Manager, SA Water and the Resilience Expert Advisory Group (REAG) Why is organisational resilience important for the Australian utilities sector? Societies are highly reliant on the continuous availability of utility services. The total economic cost of natural and man-made disasters in Australia exceeded $9 billion in 2015. This is expected to rise to an average of $33 [...]
For the past seven years, Melbourne has been ranked the world’s most livable city. For me, it’s the environment – the trees – that contribute to not just Melbourne’s reputation, but the state’s, as a great place to live and visit. But, as Head of Network Compliance at United Energy, CitiPower and Powercor, it’s Victoria’s leafy characteristics that also pose a challenge when it comes to managing our network.
by Mark Halliwell, Taggle Systems SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) Systems are a major contributor to the daily operation of most water service providers’ activities. A wide variety of sensors connected to RTUs (Remote Telemetry Units) or PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers) collect data from, and allow control of, equipment located throughout the water supply system, from the point of [...]
The Digital Utility Awards were launched as a way to gather some of the best ideas when it comes to the digitisation of utilities – and the best implementation of these ideas – so that all of the industry can benefit from some of the impressive changes that are being made. The awards recognise the utility industry’s greatest achievements in [...]
Representatives from Australia’s major water and energy utilities gathered in Melbourne in April to discuss the impact of digital disruption on the utility sector and learn how to embrace emerging technologies and be fearless in the face of innovation. Digital Utilities 2018 was held from 19-20 April at the Pullman Hotel in Albert Park, Melbourne, providing members of the utility [...]
A Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) has been launched by the Federal and Western Australian Governments to grow capability in cyber security research, development and commercialisation. The Cyber Security CRC, based at Edith Cowan University in Perth, is the result of collaboration between industry, government and the research sector. The centre is charged with delivering advancements that will build [...]
New rules around mandatory reporting of serious data breaches have come into effect as of 22 February 2018. Through the Notifiable Data Breaches Scheme, the Australian Government is setting new standards of accountability and transparency to protect individuals' personal information. Entities subject to the Privacy Act 1988 – including most Australian Government agencies, businesses with an annual turnover of more [...]
Farmers and businesses in Far North Queensland can bid for thousands of litres more water in March 2018 to grow their operations and boost the economy. QLD Minister for Natural Resources, Dr Anthony Lynham said registrations are open for a live auction of 1200 megalitres of unallocated water in the Babinda and Gordonvale area. “We know that for some farmers [...]
The University of Western Australia, the Cooperative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities (CRCWSC) and Water Corporation have collaborated on a joint research and development project to trial automated data analysis software to help save water. The software uses hourly water use data supplied by smart water meters to identify irrigation habits, allowing water utilities to tailor engagement with individual [...]
Queensland’s Western Downs region is the host of ten proposed large-scale renewable energy projects generating new energy in regional areas. Ten solar farms and Cooper’s Gap Wind Farm combined would create $5.5 billion in investment and 2.41GW of installed electricity generation. Queensland Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, said the State Government was determined to achieve a 50 per cent share of electricity [...]
A national park in Western Australia’s south east has gone off grid, following the successful installation of a Stand-alone Power System (SPS) which is generating electricity using renewable energy. Horizon Power recently installed the system at the iconic Fitzgerald River National Park near Hopetoun, completely removing the park from the overhead electricity network. An SPS generates and stores its own [...]
Endeavour Energy has announced construction work on its South Marsden Park Zone Substation in NSW will start in January 2018. Endeavour Energy’s General Manager Network Development, Ty Christopher, said the company was investing $24.6 million to build the new zone substation at Hollinsworth Road within the Marsden Park Industrial Precinct. “This investment will underpin significant future growth in the area [...]
The Western Australian Government will provide $16.7 million for a New Industries Fund to create jobs in the state through innovation. The fund will support and accelerate new and emerging businesses in WA through a series of new initiatives, including Innovation Hubs and Science Industry Fellowships, that are designed to increase collaboration across industry, academia and government. One of the [...]
Digital Utilities 2018 is the premier event for anyone working with or for utilities, and grappling with the momentous impacts that digital technologies are having on the industry. The digitisation of utilities is the greatest challenge currently facing the sector, and there is still much work to do to modernise existing networks, work practices and ways of interacting with customers. However, digitisation [...]
Gaining a competitive advantage relies on the ability to provide real value to customers in a marketplace that offers increasing choice. The best way for utilities to stay ahead of their competition is by providing customers with access to readily available data anywhere, any time. Secure remote access solutions enable superior visibility and control for better preventive and predictive maintenance. [...]
A new study commissioned by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has found that a move towards smarter electricity network regulation would improve reliability, reduce emissions and cut power bills for energy users. The study found that the current regulatory framework favours investing in network infrastructure – such as new poles and wires – over demand management involving energy providers [...]
Utility professionals came together for the inaugural Secure Utilities event on 23 March in Melbourne where experts in data security discussed the steps that utilities should be making to ensure their organisations are protected against cyber attacks. Due to the rapid digitisation of the utility industry, security is now more important than ever before, and Utility Magazine’s Secure Utilities was [...]
Secure Utilities is only one week away, but there’s still tickets available – now’s the time to ensure you’re aware of everything you need to know to stay safe in age of digitisation. What you'll learn With a stellar lineup, including Mark Coughlin, PwC Australia’s Energy Utilities and Mining Leader, Professor Chris Leckie, Associate Director of the Oceania Cyber Security [...]
You may have heard the recent lament about a shortage of skills in the cybersecurity sector, an idea that rose to prominence in 2016. But is there actually a shortage of skills in the sector? At Secure Utilities, we have the answers. Ricki Burke, Information Security Recruiter and founder of CyberSec People, an information security recruitment consultancy, has over ten [...]
As utilities move towards digitisation, Sarah Mahar is helping them understand how they’re tracking now, and what they need to do to become successful digital organisations in the future. At Secure Utilities, she’ll be sharing her experience in the field and showing utilities her tips and tricks for becoming more cyber aware. Ms Mahar, Asset Management Program Coordinator at WSAA, [...]
Secure Utilities, the Melbourne event showcasing the latest ideas in data security, is only two weeks away, and with cyber attacks specifically targeting the energy sector on the rise, it can’t come soon enough for utilities. The energy industry is the most targeted private sector for cyber attacks, with the highest number of compromised systems, receiving 18 per cent of [...]
Human error is the biggest risk factor in data security breaches, with some of the most likely culprits being poor passwords, uninformed users and carelessness. As cyber attackers get more sophisticated, organisations must make appropriate preparations to limit damage. Verizon’s 2016 Data Breach Investigations Report found that the majority of breaches exploited human nature. The report found that attacks exploit [...]
With both utilities and banks being prime targets for cyber attacks, ANZ’s Jarrod Loidl has plenty of cyber security lessons to teach utilities, and he’ll be sharing his wisdom at the Melbourne event, Secure Utilities. Mr Loidl, Domain Lead for the Security Enablement Program at ANZ Bank, is a cybersecurity and technology risk leader with experience spanning two decades. [...]
With 17 years’ experience in information technology and security management between them, Rachel Zainey and Richard Sengmany know how to put together a crack cyber security team, and they’ll be sharing their expertise at the upcoming Secure Utilities. The pair, both Principal Consultants of Governance Risk and Compliance at Enex Carbon, will be delivering a presentation entitled ‘Creating amazing [...]
Professor Chris Leckie is fighting back against denial-of-service attacks. With over two decades’ experience researching artificial intelligence (AI) and data mining, Professor Leckie is using his expertise to improve cyber security and mitigate denial-of-service attacks, which attempt to use traffic from multiple sources to overwhelm online infrastructure and take it down. At the upcoming Secure Utilities, Professor Leckie will give [...]
Andrew Steer has over 30 years’ experience in designing technological solutions for utilities and is using his expertise to integrate smart metering with traditional control systems, information he’ll be sharing at the Melbourne event showcasing the latest in cyber security, Secure Utilities. Mr Steer, NCC Support Manager, United Energy, has focused his career on the development of strategies and applying [...]
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