Page 49 - Energize January 2022

VIEWS AND OPINION

bids into the frequency control ancillary should be paid a lot for that. When you’re it is not clear how customers can enjoy
services (FCAS) market and keeping the using your electric vehicle at a time when “free’” electricity beyond the initial 1,000
battery charged in case of an outage. everyone’s using the system, it should be participants. Once the results of the pilot
By aggregating and optimizing the expensive. When no one is [using it] it project are in, one will be able to know if
consumption, generation and storage of should be cheap.” the scheme is sustainable and scalable,
the 1,000 participants, the scheme works “Then you have electrons meeting or too good to be true. At the end, there
as a virtual power plant (VPP). According demand and demand meeting electrons, is always a catch. Perhaps customers will
to Spaccavento, “… Reposit provides the not the one-way supply meets demand. have to pay a monthly service fee beyond
control, and the decision making at that … Without (the correct) price signals, you the investment in the solar and the
[residential] end, but that decision making just get a very, very expensive electricity batteries, plus relinquishing control over
is heavily influenced – in fact, almost system.” their devices.
dictated – by what Ausgrid says (is) safe What about the equity issues that Setting aside the specifics of the
and … efficient to do.” inevitably arise? What about the non-solar scheme, the idea behind virtual power
For Ausgrid, one of the main customers? What about solar households plants (VPPs) is gaining momentum. It is
advantages of the project – if successful that can’t afford to add a battery and/ becoming common knowledge that as
– is the ability to set prices for both or an electric vehicle and hence cannot the number of prosumers, prosumagers
importing and exporting electricity, participate in the scheme, assuming and EV owners continues to rise, some
across a distribution network increasingly it is scaled up? Amphlett Lewis says, consumers will turn into flexumers – i.e.,
congested when overwhelmed by the “First, by making the system cheaper, consumers with flexibility – while others
flows in either direction, say when you’re benefiting everyone, so it doesn’t will become nonsumers – those whose
charging EVs or feeding the excess solar matter whether you’re solar or not, this net kWh offtake from the grid is zero or
generation into the grid. Currently, the is effectively going to reduce the cost of negative – as well as the assortment of
latter is a controversial issue in Australia decarbonization and allow us to do things difficult-to-serve such as EV owners who
with the Australian Electricity Market smarter, so everyone benefits.” charge at the time of the peak demand,
Commission (AEMC) proposing a fee, “Secondly … this isn’t the only solution totally oblivious to the price signals.
dubbed a solar tax, for exporting excess … we’re looking at community batteries, Projects such as this as well as
solar. According to Ausgrid’s chief other people have other ideas about how countless others in the US and Europe
customer officer Rob Amphlett Lewis, to help customers with just solar.” are trying to do similar things by enabling
“We’re sending a price signal of when it Spaccavento agrees. “I think that intermediaries to unleash the power
is really valuable for a customer to export getting the right incentives conveyed and and full potential of the price signal
their solar and when it’s of negative value accepted and acted upon by consumers without inconveniencing or relying on the
for them to export.” with DERs is the only way that we end up customers, most of whom have better
He acknowledges that prosumers, “… with an efficient electricity system.” things to do. Call it two-sided markets,
might struggle with pricing signals,” while “At the moment, those (price) VPPs or whatever, the aim is the same, and
a smart intermediary, in this case Reposit, incentives are mixed, and some of them are the means to deliver is mostly at hand.
can manage the assets delivering, “… a blocked; the consumer doesn’t see them.”
really good outcome.” The beauty of the project is to Reference
“What we’re trying to achieve … is demonstrate that “… by using technology 1. Sophie Vorrath: “One Step off the
to get all this distributed energy to work that already exists and stitching it together grid”, 28 September 2021, https://
together, so that it’s not just benefiting in a way that allows incentives to have onestepoffthegrid.com.au/zero-
the household, but it’s actually working in the intended effect on the electricity grid, electricity-bills-ausgrid-and-reposit-trial-
almost an organic way to deliver a system consumers can be served at lower costs compelling-solar-and-battery-offer/
that delivers for everyone.” with simpler, more sustainable energy
“… that means, when you’re exporting, which is really what they want.” Acknowledgement
if it’s a really bad time to export you Skeptics are not sure how Ausgrid and This article first appeared in the November
should be charged for that. If, when you Reposit can pull it off. Just as Strauss’ “too 2021 edition of EEnergy Informer, and is
export, it’s good time to export, you cheap to meter” did not come to pass, republished here with permission.

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