Smart meters are often the first thing that energy consumers and energy industry professionals think about with the digitalisation of the energy network. The adoption of smart meters has shaped the energy usage of energy consumers that have further supported the reliability of the grid.
When the Power of Choice legislation was introduced to spur the adoption of smart metering in the National Electricity Market eight years ago, only 3% of Australia’s electricity supply was generated by rooftop solar systems. Electric vehicles and home batteries were hardly on the minds of energy consumers back then.
Today, more than 11% of Australia’s energy comes from rooftop solar. Home batteries are now installed in a quarter of a million households and more than 7% of new vehicles purchased are electric vehicles (EVs).
To manage the rapid uptake of consumer distributed energy resources (DER), the Australian Energy Market Commission has recommended a 100% target for the rollout of smart meters in Australia.
Smart meters will allow new tariff systems to be implemented and with this data, facilitate the design and execution of demand response programs on the grid.
Smart meters also offer real-time insights into the way energy consumers use electricity, as well as how they adopt new distributed energy resources (DER) as electrification shapes the modern electricity grid.
But while smart meters can influence consumer behaviours during peak demand periods, ensuring visibility within low voltage networks is key to effectively managing demand.
Comparing LV monitoring and smart meters
Most DNSPs around the world, including Australia, have very little visibility of their low voltage network. To achieve better visibility of the low voltage network, the solution is to combine both smart meters and low voltage monitoring devices to support the digitalisation of the electricity network.
Low voltage monitoring is not an alternative to smart meters – it is complementary.
With smart meters, DNSPs can monitor the electricity consumption of individual households and businesses.
Low voltage monitoring devices, installed at low voltage substations, monitor the feeders and transformers that supply grid electricity to neighbourhoods and commercial and industrial locations.
Making low voltage monitoring and smart meters work together
Data from smart meters deliver insights on the energy demand and usage patterns in a network. This delivers insights that DNSPs need to plan for the growth of DER in households or commercial and industrial locations.
For example, a smart meter can provide a snapshot of how much rooftop solar is being exported to the grid during the day when energy usage, versus how much energy is being consumed by appliances that are on standby.
There are also insights about the performance and condition of the network that smart meters cannot deliver that low voltage monitoring can.
Low voltage monitoring goes together with smart meters to give DNSPs and energy retailers the data and insights they need to develop grid-edge and cloud applications for a more reliable electricity grid.
Using insights to manage faults and deliver value to energy users
When it comes to identifying faults, data from smart meters signal to DNSPs when electricity is not being supplied to a customers’ premises.
Low voltage monitoring provides insights on the state of the low voltage feeder, medium voltage network and the distance where the low voltage fault has occurred. Integrating this data from smart meters, DNSPs can pinpoint the original location of the fault and rectify it quickly.
Specific incidents of the unauthorised consumption of electricity through meter tampering or illegal electricity connections are rare in Australia. However, it is possible to detect energy theft by looking at data from smart meters and LV network monitoring to identify any gaps that DNSPs can use to detect anomalies.
One of the most critical functions of smart meters is to provide DNSPs with the ability to forecast electricity consumption on the grid. This has been the crucial piece of information to deliver Time of Use Tariffs that have been designed to shift peak demand and support accurate billing to energy consumers.
At the same time, shifting peak demand requires LV network monitoring to provide a real-time snapshot on the location and amount of energy that needs to be delivered through low voltage feeders and transformers.
Smart meters can detect wiring issues at a customers’ premise by measuring the voltage being fed to a home at a local level. Together with low voltage network monitoring, DNSPs can aggregate demand to see if the issue is coming from a specific household or part of a broader network concern.
Supporting the digitalisation of the grid
Integrating smart meters with low voltage network monitoring addresses the challenges that come with the growth of DER. With more rooftop solar, home, community and pole-top batteries and EVs connecting to the grid, the need for real-time visibility and data-driven decision-making has never been more important.
Combining smart meters and low voltage monitoring delivers enhanced insights for DNSPs on potential faults and conditions on the grid. This allows them to proactively manage supply and demand fluctuations.
Using data from smart meters and low voltage monitoring, DNSPs can confidently enable a net-zero emissions grid, deliver grid resilience, and empower consumers to participate in the clean energy market.
Neil Davies is managing director of EA Technology Australia
