As rooftop solar and batteries become the norm, how to appropriately manage their output becomes an increasing challenge around Australia. We spoke to Suleman Alli, Director of Strategy at UK Power Networks, ahead of his international keynote presentation at Digital Utilities 2020, about the utility’s plans to create the world’s most advanced electricity network control system and how it is [...]
EnergyAustralia and energy distribution company Jemena will reward customers living in north-west Melbourne with bill credits if they reduce their energy usage to help reduce strain on the electricity grid. Through the Energy Saving Rewards program, EnergyAustralia customers living in Coolaroo, Essendon, Footscray, Somerton, Yarraville and surrounding suburbs could receive up to $100 of bill credits over the 2019-2020 summer [...]
Updated interactive investment and constraint maps, also known as Network Opportunity Maps, have been released as part of a push by network businesses to improve network efficiency and lower network prices. Energy Networks Australia, in partnership with the University of Technology Sydney, has released the 2019 update of the Network Opportunity Maps for distribution businesses based on December 2018 Distribution [...]
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 - [...]
Powercor is launching a new program to help save energy within the community and reduce costs to customers will be launched in the Bellarine Peninsula and some parts of the Surf Coast area by network over the 2018-2019 summer. ‘Powercor Energy Partner’ uses a smart device installed in the home to allow both residents and Powercor to set temperatures on air conditioning [...]
The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has made a final rule to improve the transparency and consistency of information the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) provides to signal whether or not electricity supply is projected to meet demand in the medium-term. This forecasting exercise is called the medium-term projected assessment of system adequacy, or MT PASA, and is used to [...]
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 [...]
ERM Power has released a submission, jointly signed by 10 retailers, on the National Energy Guarantee (NEG) urging policy makers to get the design right to drive investment in the right resources in the right locations while supporting competition and reducing costs. The Energy Security Board (ESB) discussion paper opens up the conversation on how to deliver affordable energy, well-placed [...]
DTN, a leading provider of information services, has announced that based on comparisons from a recent report, it has the lowest forecast error for both one-day-out and two-day-out high temperature forecasts. The study, released by ForecastWatch, a leading analyst of predictions and outcomes in the weather industry, based on the weather conditions forecast 24 hours a day over 12 months, [...]
Government and industry leaders have welcomed the findings of the Finkel Report, commenting that its recommendations were necessary to secure the future of Australia’s energy. The final report, prepared by an Expert Panel and chaired by Australia’s Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel AO, was released on 9 June 2017 and recommends action to create a reliable and affordable energy system, [...]
To meet the challenges of climate change and more extreme droughts, the three metropolitan Melbourne water utilities are working together to explore new ways to further improve the performance of the water network, and ensure it operates even more efficiently and delivers greater value to their customers. Early last year, City West Water, South East Water and Yarra Valley Water [...]
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 [...]
Summer is a challenging time of year for any industrial electricity user with a contract that exposes them to peak demand events across the grid. But a new solution allows users to access the best rates the market has to offer – while still protecting against the surge pricing that can, in the worst of cases, put a business under. The removal [...]
APA Group has entered into a 12-year offtake agreement with an energy supplier that will underpin the construction of the 130MW Badgingarra Wind Farm in Western Australia. The agreement is for Alinta Energy to purchase all of the energy and the Large-scale Renewable Generation Certificates (LGCs) generated by the wind farm. The Badgingarra Wind Farm will be located adjacent to [...]
The Australian property market is changing. More people are embracing high and medium-density living, with many developments incorporating a mix of residential, retail and commercial tenants. In the Housing Industry Association’s Forecast November 2016, around 420,000 multi-units will be commenced by the year 2020. Andrew Perry, EnergyAustralia Executive – NextGen, said the company entered the embedded networks industry in June [...]
Yarra Valley Water’s North Warrandyte Sewerage Project overcame the challenging installation of an inverted siphon sewer main under Melbourne’s Yarra River to connect up to 1,000 residents to the local sewerage network for the first time. Yarra Valley Water is investing more than $300 million to bring sewerage services to 17,000 properties across its service area by 2030. The current [...]
Increasing the number of solar installations in areas that have previously had their levels capped is a critical part of increasing the uptake of residential solar PV around the country. Recognising this, Dr Nick Engerer and his team from The Australian National University are working on an innovative new project that will help to maximise solar penetration levels in our [...]
In 2004, Maroochy Shire Council on Australia’s Sunshine Coast was wrestling with the problem of how to smooth water and energy demands on two water treatment plants and maximise network asset utilisation. The operators of the Landers Shute and Image Flat water treatment plants in the former Maroochy Shire believed that smoothed flow profiles were essential to improving the operability, [...]
By Steve Truman, Customer Development Manager, CitiPower/Powercor In addition to CitiPower and Powercor Australia’s Metro and CBD Security of Supply Projects, the relocation of CitiPower assets around future development works are critical to ensure the ever-growing demand of Melbourne’s electrical network is satisfied. The first of the relocation works was aimed at providing increased operational capacity to the high voltage [...]
by Bev McQuade, Chief Information Officer, SA Water Bev McQuade Utilities around Australia are embracing the benefits of big data, but how are they actually implementing it in day-to-day operations? SA Water’s Chief Information Officer (CIO) Bev McQuade explains how South Australia’s water utility is using data to improve operations, and discusses the challenges that come with managing large quantities [...]
By Elisabeth Brinton, Executive General Manager, New Energy for AGL While distributed generation could be seen as a threat to utilities and their energy business models, it is actually unlocking a new area of growth and providing benefits for the grid, the consumer and the environment. As we transition to a carbon-constrained economy, distributed energy resources (DERs) offer an exciting [...]
To help the energy sector plan for future infrastructure and policy needs, the CSIRO is bringing together Australia’s energy use data onto one publicly available online platform – the Energy Use Data Model (EUDM). CSIRO Grids and Energy Efficiency Systems Research Group Leader, Adam Berry. Knowing how Australians use energy can help the sector create networks, products, technologies and policies [...]
TasWater has given principle support to the development of a new raw water dam on the Tea Tree Rivulet near Buckland on the state’s east coast to help secure future water security for the Orford and Triabunna regions. The dam is being proposed by the Glamorgan Spring Bay Council with backing from the Department of State Growth. The dam will [...]
Applications have opened for the federal government’s $2 billion National Water Infrastructure Loan Facility which will fund priority water infrastructure projects across Australia. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Barnaby Joyce, said the loans would fast-track construction of the water infrastructure needed to support economic growth and prosperity, and strong and vibrant rural and regional communities. [...]
As the utility sector evolves, new standards are constantly being developed and revised to enhance economic efficiency and international competitiveness, while meeting the demands for a safe and sustainable environment. At the centre of these developments is Standards Australia, a non-governmental organisation whose expertise and main responsibility is the development and adoption of standards in Australia. Standards play an important [...]
In January 2016, Zinfra was awarded a significant project by Transport for NSW (TfNSW) as part of TfNSW’s Power Supply Upgrade Program. TfNSW is the lead agency of the NSW transport cluster, which includes Roads and Maritime Services, Sydney Trains, NSW TrainLink and State Transit. The Power Supply Upgrade Program involves construction of new electrical infrastructure and upgrades to substations, [...]
Snowy Hydro is partnering with renewable energy investor and developer Equis to construct a 100MW solar facility with on-site battery storage in Tailem Bend in South Australia. Snowy Hydro has a power purchase agreement with Equis for the project which will have a combined power and large-scale generation certificates price around 40 per cent less than prevailing South Australian market [...]
The Victorian Government is investing $5 million in large-scale energy storage initiatives, including batteries and micro-grids, that will strengthen the state’s electricity system. The funding will also be used to determine the best locations for storage and the best way to support the deployment of up to 5400MW of new renewable energy generation in the state. “The funding will be [...]
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