Energy industry helps test demand response

#EnergyNews: A grant of up to $22.5 million from the Turnbull Government through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) will be used for a three year trial in South Australia and Victoria to temporarily free up supply during extreme weather and unplanned outages.

The pilot demand response initiative will aim to trial 100 megawatts of demand response capacity by December, with the potential for demand response to be scaled up in subsequent years.

At a workshop today the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) and ARENA are consulting with energy industry stakeholders on the proposed program.

Participants at ARENA’S A-Lab workshop will help ARENA and AEMO design a program that tests the capabilities of demand side resources.

The Turnbull Government wants to make sure all resources are available to contribute to energy reliability and affordability, including resources on the demand side of the market.

‘Demand response’ involves paying consumers to reduce their energy consumption on request during peak periods, extreme weather or other emergencies, helping to avoid blackouts.

Minister for the Environment and Energy Josh Frydenberg said “I am pleased that ARENA and AEMO are collaborating to further integrate renewables into the electricity grid, and the strong interest by energy market participants in this workshop is very encouraging”.

A key outcome of the proposed ARENA demand response program is that it will assist in identifying options to support the electricity system to manage peak demand in real-time.

This initiative will inform any regulatory changes that are needed for demand response to be an option in the long term.

Our evolving electricity market needs innovative ways of smoothing out volatility as it transitions towards an electricity system with increasing variable renewable energy.

This initiative is in line with the Government’s commitment to delivering affordable and reliable electricity as we transition to a lower emissions future and could be used to reduce costs around network infrastructure.

ARENA’S A-Lab provides a space for participants to explore and define solutions to the most complex challenges of integrating renewables and grids, combining their respective strengths and building momentum for change.