About the project
The Smart Grid, Smart City project is part of the Australian Government's National Energy Efficiency Initiative and will deliver Australia's first commercial-scale smart grid.
Ausgrid (formerly EnergyAustralia), working with their consortium partners IBM Australia, GE Energy Australia, Sydney Water, Hunter Water, and Newcastle City Council, is delivering the project.
The Smart Grid, Smart City project will demonstrate a range of smart grid technologies and applications. Further information on what is being tested as part of the project can be found on the Smart Grid, Smart City website.
The project aims to gather robust information about the costs and benefits of smart grids to help inform future decisions by government, electricity providers, technology suppliers and consumers across Australia.
The key focal point of the project is Newcastle, New South Wales, but also includes the trialling of specific technologies and applications in Sydney, including in the CBC, Newington and Ku-Ring-Gai, and the rural township of Scone.
It is anticipated that interim data and results will be made available publicly over the course of the project to share lessons with other electricity networks that are developing smart grids, and to assist industry with the development of smart grid technologies.
How is RET involved?
The Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism (RET) is delivering the project in consultation with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, and the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency.
Timeline
The project commenced in October 2010 and will run until September 2013.
Funding
The Australian Government has committed up to $100 million to develop the demonstration project in partnership with the energy sector.
About smart grids
A smart grid works by combining advanced communication, sensing and metering infrastructure with the existing electricity network. Smart grids have enormous potential to improve the efficiency of Australia's electricity sector and transform the way Australians use energy in their homes and businesses.
A smart grid can improve the reliability of electricity services for consumers by identifying and resolving faults on the electricity grid, better managing voltage and identifying infrastructure that requires maintenance. Smart grids can also help consumers manage their individual electricity consumption and enable the use of energy efficient 'smart appliances' that can be programmed to run on off-peak power.
Related pages
More information
For more information about the Smart Grid, Smart City project go to the Smart Grid, Smart City website or email smartgrid@ret.gov.au.