Victorians to be asked to switch off power at peak times

THOUSANDS of Melburnians will be invited via text message to turn off pool pumps or airconditioners on scorching days this summer in return for a free weekend’s power use.

Thousands of Melburnians will receive text messages inviting them to turn off pool pumps or airconditioners in return for a free weekend’s power use. Generic picture: Getty Images

THOUSANDS of Melburnians will receive text messages inviting them to turn off pool pumps or airconditioners on scorching days this summer in return for a free weekend’s power use.

Energy providers will roll out a pilot demand management program — already widely used overseas — as a key measure to avoid the risk of blackouts during heatwaves.

Electricity retailer Powershop, which has more than 100,000 customers, will use a mobile notification system for its Victorian households.

Customers will be under no obligation to take part.

Customers can voluntarily opt in to reduce their energy consumption in exchange for a financial incentive.

By reducing energy usage for between one to four hours, customers could receive the equivalent of a weekend of free electricity.

It comes as retailers will be forced to offer Victorians struggling with energy costs easier payment options such as fortnightly or monthly billing.

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Household could gain credits on their power bills for turning off airconditioners at peak times.

The Essential Services Commission has unveiled the new minimum standards of help for customers in payment difficulty.

Disconnecting households for unpaid bills of less than $300 will also be banned.

The Australian Energy Market Operator and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency will today announce 10 pilot projects to be funded under a Turnbull Government program to manage electricity supply during extreme peaks.

The trial is a response to warnings from Australia’s energy market operator both Victoria and South Australia needed to take urgent measures to avoid an increased risk of energy shortfalls.

Industry and energy experts believe wide-scale adoption of the approach could free up about 3000MW of power — twice the power generated by the recently decommissioned Hazelwood coal-fired station.

Households, industry and business will also receive incentives to switch to backup generation or dispatch their energy storage for short periods when electricity reserves reach critically low levels.

Five of the projects in the $35.7 million three-year pilot — to be delivered by Energy Australia, United Energy, EnerNOC, Powershop and Zen Ecosystems — will deliver a combined 110MW of emergency supply to Victoria by 2020-21, with 63MW available this summer.

United Energy will use voltage control devices installed at substations across its entire distribution network in Melbourne and Mornington Peninsula to deliver demand response

During a peak event, it will slightly lower the voltage across its whole network of 600,000 households and businesses and will use smart meters to ensure the voltage remains at a safe allowable limit.

Large scale industrial and commercial businesses — such as cold storage facilities, manufacturing plants and commercial buildings — will also take part in trials.

ARENA chief executive Ivor Frischknecht said the funding round had well exceeded the 160MW initially hoped for and had cost less than expected.

“Through this initiative, we’ve been able to build a virtual power plant the size of two of

Tesla’s giant 100 MW batteries in a matter of months for a fraction of the cost of building

a new power station,” Mr Frischknecht said.

Tens of thousands of households across Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales are expected to voluntarily sign up to participate.

AEMO managing director Audrey Zibelman said the projects would undergo testing in November and would be up and running by December.

AEMO boss Audrey Zibelman says demand management is a proven approach. Picture: Aaron Francis

“It is clear that demand response has untapped potential to manage demand during extreme peaks in Australia, just as it does in other countries,” Ms Zibelman said.

Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg said the approach had been successfully used overseas as a cost effective way of managing demand and price spikes.

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