Australia OKs Its First Commercial-Scale Smart Grid Demonstration Project

Australia will begin its first commercial-scale Smart Grid demonstration project later this year in Newcastle and parts of Sydney. The winning bid for the $82.2 million project came from a consortium led by EnergyAustralia, the country's largest electricity provider. Consortium members include GE Energy, CSIRO, IBM Australia, AGL, TransGrid, Newcastle City Council and the New South Wales government. The project will involve the deployment of advanced smart meters, integration of renewable energy into the electric grid, and in Newcastle, an online energy consumption resource will be available for consumers to help them manage their appliances and energy use. Also, the city of Sydney has purchased a small fleet of EVs to help determine the best locations for plug-in recharging stations.

Quick Take: Obviously, it's good news that Australia has gotten its Smart Grid technology ball rolling. We hope the program includes a healthy dose of customer engagement because an earlier smart meter deployment in Victoria was met with the same kind of mistrust and resistance we've experienced periodically here in the U.S.

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