The Challenge and the Benefit
Electricity grids are evolving rapidly due to the rise of distributed energy resources like rooftop solar. In Australia, this has led to grid instability and negative wholesale energy prices during midday when solar output peaks but demand is low. Energy retailers face a dilemma: while rooftop solar helps meet renewable targets, it also causes financial strain and must comply with strict grid operating limits.
A potential solution lies in managing distributed and customer energy use to better align supply and demand. This would help retailers stay within grid constraints, reduce costs through tariff optimization, and maintain a seamless experience for customers—benefiting all parties involved.
The EDMI Solution
Since Bluecurrent entered the Australian market in 2016, EDMI has been delivering hundreds of thousands of Atlas meters as part of EDMI’s smart metering solution. Many of these devices include load control relays connected to customer hot water systems. Electric hot water systems heat cold water through the use of an electrically powered heating element. By heating the water, ready for use by the consumer, the hot water systems are converting the electrical energy into heat energy.
Key Characteristics of the NEOS Solution
To make use of these hot water systems, the EDMI Neos Solution provides Bluecurrent with real-time data feeds and control to these hot water systems. Using this visibility and control, Bluecurrent can integrate this capability with knowledge about the current wholesale market pricing and directives from energy retailers and distribution networks. During each day, Bluecurrent is actively switching hot water systems on and off based around the optimal time to run these systems to match periods of low demand and high solar generation. Three key characteristics of the Neos Solution are critical to the success of this application.
EDMI’s robust design and rigorous testing of its metering devices, especially the load control relays, give Bluecurrent confidence in handling the demanding load switching required for this application.
EDMI’s architecture ensures reliable, real-time communication with each meter, avoiding the bandwidth and latency issues seen in many competitor deployments.
EDMI’s Storm Head End System is a critical enabler of scalable, real-time demand response, capable of managing millions of meters simultaneously.
Reimagining Energy Use: A Partnership Saving Millions for Australia’s Grid
The development of this service was done in an innovative partnership between Bluecurrent and EDMI. Not only does it benefit Bluecurrent and their customers, but this innovation is helping the Australian energy consumer. This and other innovations managing customer energy resources are critical to ensuring an optimised use of the poles and wires in the National Electricity Market (NEM), enabling a reduction in the overall investment in the network, saving the industry millions, potentially billions of dollars.
