Australia’s gas and electricity distribution industry group said a strategy it has unveiled will help the country carry out its smart grid vision by making it a team effort.
Through an email, Tanya Barden, director of smart electricity networks at power distribution umbrella group Energy Networks Association, told Ecoseed they realized that the deployment and operation of smart grid systems falls largely on the shoulders of electricity distribution businesses.
To help with the huge task, the association crafted an industry strategy that informs electricity network businesses about the objectives of smart electricity networks.
The association’s National Strategy for Smart Electricity Networks released last week focuses on four priority areas to promote the deployment of smart grid infrastructure in Australia.
It also guides other stakeholders on the smart grid initiatives that electricity distribution companies are jointly undertaking.
The national strategy will allow power companies to share information and experience on smart grid technologies.
The association said it will impart industry knowledge to the power industry to facilitate timely and economic decisions on technological choices, workforce planning and standards and procedures.
It aims to develop customer education and participation in the smart grid and introduce them to its benefits. It will also initiate a customer protection mechanism for consumers.
The association will work with the government in designing commercial and regulatory frameworks for smart grids.
“Smart networks have the potential to improve the energy efficiency of electricity distribution networks by helping to manage network assets, optimizing power flows and reducing the losses of electricity that occurs as power travels through the network,” Ms. Barden told EcoSeed.
Smart grid networks will reportedly help in lowering Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions from energy consumption.
In its Greenhouse Indicator Summer Report, nonprofit organization The Climate Group said greenhouse gases across the country’s four eastern states was 1.2 million metric tons less compared with emissions recorded in summer 2009.
“By optimizing network operations and facilitating customer responses, smart networks can deliver future electricity supplies that are more reliable, more environmentally sustainable and more cost-effective,” Ms. Barden said.
“Given increasing demands for electricity and the need to reduce carbon emissions, it is essential to transform the way electricity is delivered and used. Smart electricity networks are a vital component of this transformation,” she added.
