Smart Grid Australia and the National Broadband Network
September 13, 2011
In 2010, Smart Grid Australia and NBN Co (the infrastructure company rolling out a nationwide broadband FttH network) established a collaborative relationship to review requirements of the NBN to support Utility Smart Meters and Smart Grid initiatives. SGA published a detailed report on this and tabled this with NBN Co. In addition, several electricity distribution companies have been working with NBN Co. on the so-called NBN “first release” sites. NBN Co has also been in talks with the NSW electricity distributor Ausgrid, who is rolling out the Smart Grid/Smart City (SGSC) project in Sydney, Newcastle and other parts of the Hunter Valley. Part of the SGSC charter is to explore synergies with the NBN.
By rights, one would anticipate that a single communications platform, the NBN, supporting broadband services as well as smart meters/ smart grid communications would provide significant trans-sector synergies. Areas such as civil works, installation and commissioning of the NBN customer premises ONT (Optical Network Termination) and smart meters; as well as service assurance (fault diagnosis / repair) all stand to benefit from a dovetailed approach.
However, this has been more challenging than anticipated. Concerns persist on the electricity distributor side in relation to the cost and functionality of using the NBN for their smart grid requirements. Some take the very narrow view of just the reading of smart meters; however the potential of the NBN for the future need of smart grid applications in the management of renewable energy, field assets, electric vehicles and home automation gateways is increasingly becoming better understood. Once millions of sensors (the Internet of Things) are connected to the grid, an enormous amount of data processing will be required. This requires capacity, reliability and security, and in such an environment a reliable, ubiquitous and affordable NBN should start to make sense.
Another requirement from the utilities – and this remains a sticking point – is independent and secure end-to-end control of their communications network.
Based on a request from the Minister, the SGA work group, with good support from the SGA utilities membership remains committed to ongoing collaboration with NBN Co on refining the issues that will drive synergies across NBN and Smart Grid.
Extending this further to the testing of smart grid applications utilising the NBN as the communications network would be a further step.
The government has also indicated that the SGSC project would be used as a test-bed for other smart grid rollouts throughout the country.
Paul Budde
