Business grants up to $2.5m to fund trials on energy efficiencies in South Australia
SOUTH Australian homeowners could be rewarded for moving their electricity use away from sweltering summer days, under a series of energy trials aimed to boost grid reliability and lower costs.
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SOUTH Australian homeowners could be rewarded for moving their electricity use away from sweltering summer days, under a series of energy trials aimed to boost grid reliability and lower costs.
The $11 million trial scheme – which will provide grants of up to $2.5 million to SA businesses for innovative ideas – will attempt to unearth the best ways to shift demand and lower bill prices.
Energy and Mining Minister Dan van Holst Pellekaan said simple changes to how electricity was used during peak demand times had the potential to substantially lower bills for households and businesses.
“The very high demand South Australia experiences on a handful of summer days and our over-reliance on renewable energy contributes to the overall high cost of electricity in our state,” he said.
“The intent of supporting these trials is to demonstrate how new technologies play an important role in making the grid more efficient and rewarding consumers for managing their own demand.
Demand management techniques that could be explored further include:
PRE–COOLING homes on hot days to reduce demand during peak periods;
RUNNING pool pumps at times of lower demand by using batteries or smart controls, and;
PAYING battery-equipped households to provide grid stability.
Businesses will have to at least match the funding amount provided by the State Government. Mr Van Holst Pellekaan said he hoped the trials would unveil innovative ideas that would help to slash energy bills.
“Developing tools that will reduce peak demand for electricity will reduce cost pressures on the electricity network and the price paid by South Australian households and businesses,” he said. “While participating consumers stand to benefit financially from changing their energy consumption behaviour, the trial should also reveal how these behavioural changes can help reduce energy costs for other consumers.”
Labor energy spokesman Tom Koutsantonis said the scheme was a continuation of the former government’s response to the statewide blackout, in which they handed out grants to businesses to help them to reduce their energy consumption.