OFICINA GENERAL DE PLANEAMIENTO Y PRESUPUESTO

systems (WAMS) trials

Wide Area Management Systems (WAMS) are currently used by transmission and distribution network companies around the world as part of the monitoring, measurement and control of the complex behaviour exhibited by large power networks. In its present form, WAM may be used as a stand- alone system that complements the grid’s conventional supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system. As a complementary system, WAM can enhance the operator’s real-time situational awareness that is necessary for safe and reliable grid operation. WAM technologies (also referred to as

synchrophasors) are protection relays capable of providing high speed, time-synchronised measurements of the electrical network, including voltage, current and frequency. Once deployed at strategic points on the transmission and distribution networks, these devices generate data that can be used to provide an accurate view of the health of the larger grid.

It should be noted that WAM technologies were not included in the national cost benefit assessment. The inherent complexity of estimating its benefits and the current lack of benchmarking data made available in the industry makes it virtually impossible to quantify the benefits. This gap is a key learning from the project and highlights the importance of further studies

The inherent complexity of benefits and the lack of benchmarking data currently available in the industry made it impossible to quantify the benefit for the cost benefit analysis. This gap in cost data is a key learning from the Smart Grid, Smart City WAM Project and highlights the importance of further studies within the industry to generate key benchmarks to inform future business cases.

The WAM field trials demonstrated the following (unquantified) benefits which could potentially assist in managing the risks of wide area outages and reducing network capital expenditure:

● Assessing baseline power system performance which assists in network planning and assessing efficiencies in the grid

● Using synchrophasor data to increase visibility of the sub–transmission network performance and to identify appropriate locations for phasor measurement unit (PMU) installation

● Using synchrophasor data to obtain accurate and current information with respect to the state of the network at all levels to assist in forecasting

● Improving the reliability of power measurement data The value of these benefits was not able to be quantified as each of these elements are highly dependent on the effectiveness of existing network analytics, engineering practices and operational conditions. This is highly sensitive network business data for which there exists no publicly accessible benchmarking data.

8.6 Key findings

and recommendations

for Smart Meter

Infrastructure

(stand-alone)

Two different deployment value propositions for the deployment of smart meter infrastructure were modelled as part of the national cost benefit assessment. The first, termed stand-alone is a full

deployment approach to rolling out smart meters in Australia. Under the stand-alone or full deployment approach, it assumes that smart meters can be economically deployed based on the financial savings of including remote meter reading, remote connections and disconnections and other benefits such as savings on manual load and power quality surveys. A full deployment is similar to the mandated deployment of smart meter infrastructure currently underway in Victoria.

In addition to the stand-alone or full deployment approach to, assumptions were made about a customer-led rollout of smart meter infrastructure. For the purposes of this modelling, a customer-led smart meter rollout occurs either when customers voluntarily uptake a dynamic tariff or when customers take up either distributed generation or distributed storage technologies. The result of the cost benefit assessment of a customer-led deployment of smart meter

infrastructure is discussed in the following section. The trajectory of each of the different smart meter infrastructure deployment approaches is described in  Figure 20.

Smart meters provide the enabling infrastructure required for smart grids. In a stand-alone capacity, smart meter infrastructure provides:

● The capability to remotely collect 30-minute (interval) data on the electricity usage of customers

● Power quality data to monitor networks e.g. voltage and current

Smart meter infrastructure also enables:

● The introduction of dynamic tariffs, allowing cost reflective price signals to be sent to electricity consumers

● Remote delivery of off-peak scheduling for hot water systems (replacing the existing ripple control systems)

● Remote control of household appliances such as cycling of air-conditioning (DRED) for the purpose of managing electricity demand during peak events under the smart grid case

● Communications and metering for electric vehicle smart charging

Under the smart meter infrastructure (stand-alone) business case, the assessment included the costs and benefits of avoided meter reading; avoided power quality surveys; avoided costs for customer connections and disconnections; and avoided load surveys. The expected change in smart meter penetration in Australia over time has been shown in Figure 20.

This figure shows the gradual increase in the number of smart meters in Australia under the smart grid medium scenario. It shows that in 2014 approximately two thirds of all customer meters have the traditional spinning disc electricity meters with the majority of smart meters being located in Victoria due to their mandated deployment.

In the early years of the modelling (from 2014), the number of smart meters deployed under the stand- alone or full deployment approach is expected to be very small because the relatively high capital cost of the smart meter infrastructure means that the avoided costs from its deployment are insufficient to outweigh the costs. In the first instance, smart meters are deployed economically predominantly in long rural networks because the costs of manual meter reading, connections and disconnections are higher than in more densely populated areas. However, over time with the reduction in smart meter capital costs, the number of meters increases, particularly in urban and short rural networks which serve the majority of Australian customers.

The pink shaded area of the chart shows the impact of the smart grid medium case assumptions including customers taking up distributed generation and distributed storage devices and voluntarily adopting dynamic tariffs. For the purposes of this report, this has been termed a ‘customer led’ rollout of smart meter infrastructure.

As the customer led deployment increases over time, the unit cost of a manual meter read also increases due to the increased travel distance between spinning disc meters. In turn this further enhances the business case for smart meter infrastructure deployment in the later years and by 2029 modelling showed that smart meters can be economically deployed to all electricity customers.

The orange shaded area of the chart shows the growing number of smart meters which are deployed under the medium economic smart grid case where it is economically sensible to do so. This has been termed a ‘full deployment’ of smart meters for the purposes of this report.

In summary, the cost benefit assessment found that currently, for most network types in Australia, the costs of deploying smart meter infrastructure outweighed the financial benefits. The exception in some states and under some economic scenarios, is long rural and CBD feeders. This is because the avoided billing, metering and customer service costs for long rural networks are higher than for urban and short rural networks. This means that the higher avoided costs for long rural networks are sufficient to offset the capital and deployment costs of smart meters. However, over time, as metering capital costs reduce, this value proposition changes, particularly from around 2024.

In order to maximise the benefits from smart meter deployment, it will be important to ensure that there are mandatory minimum standards established, where cost effective, to maximise use of associated smart metering services by all participants and to reduce unnecessary meter churn.

The AEMC is currently considering a rule change with respect to the expansion of competition in metering and related services. As part of that process, AEMC has indicated that a minimum functional specification for smart meters should be developed and adopted by individual jurisdictions. Advice is currently being prepared by AEMO to the COAG Energy Council on minimum smart meter functionality reflecting the Power of Choice principles, and the development of a shared market protocol (common communication standards using B2B as the baseline).

In order to realise the smart meter benefits identified in the national cost benefit assessment modelling, it will be important that any minimum smart meter functionality and shared market protocol enables cost effective access to data for network operators, retailers or third-party providers of smart metering services.

Recommendation

The COAG Energy Council should ensure that the minimum guidelines for smart meter functionality currently being developed by AEMO is sufficiently contemporised to enable network operators, retailers and third-party providers of smart metering services to cost effectively access relevant data in order to derive the full benefits of smart meters.

8.7 Key findings and

recommendations for

dynamic tariffs and

customer feedback