Tender issued for Western Power Smart Grid trial
Release Date: 14 July 2009
A tender for the provision of 10,500 smart meters has been issued by Western Power as part of a four year Smart Grid trial. The smart meter trial is the largest in the state, with installation expected to start in early 2010.
Once the project gets underway, 8,500 smart meters will be rolled out in Perth's Eastern Corridor, which includes the Cities of Belmont, Bayswater and Swan, the Town of Bassendean and the Shires of Mundaring and Kalamunda.
Two thousand smart meters will be rolled out in Denmark and Walpole as part of the Green Town project.
This is not Western Power's first move into smart grid technology. It trialled devices in Claremont and Nedlands as part of an air-conditioner trial in 2007/08 and has been installing new meters capable of recording data in short time intervals, as standard since 2005.
The organisation issued a Request for Proposal in late June for the smart meters with the expectation of an agreement with a preferred tender to be in place by October 2009.
Western Power's Smart Grid Manager, Lisa Cunningham said smart meters would improve customer service and assist customers to better manage their energy consumption by;
- Providing real time energy consumption information via an in-home display or web-portal.
- Removing the need for manual meter readings.
- No requirement to log a fault call, the smart meters will automatically send a message to Western Power's control centre informing them of any network outages.
- Making connections and disconnections quicker as they can be done remotely.
"A significant aspect of the trial will be data collection. Western Power will use the data to better understand customers' energy usage patterns which will help to formulate future energy programs.
"The Smart Grid trial being developed by Western Power is compatible with the metering requirements agreed at the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) and supports the emerging Australian Standards framework.
"Western Power aims to deploy a technical solution that is robust, rich in functionality (to support innovation), sustainable and that matches the generational leap in capability that is representative of the future of metering infrastructure in Australia.
"It will enable a full range of energy efficiency and demand management initiatives to be tested. The new meters will be able to leverage and interface with Western Power's advanced network communication system and existing metering data management systems," Ms Cunningham said.
The leading edge trial will ensure that Perth can influence the Smart Grid discussion at a national level.
Once a tender has been awarded, Western Power will provide more information on how residents in these areas can get involved.
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If you have any questions regarding this media release please email us: media@westernpower.com.au
