Stand-alone power systems
SPS is an off-grid power solution, independent to the main electricity grid, which generates, stores, and delivers power to rural households and small businesses. It uses renewable energy via solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, battery storage, inverter(s), and a backup diesel generator. We pay for the upfront cost of the unit and any ongoing costs associated with operation and maintenance, faults, and replacement.
Customers continue to pay their Synergy bill at the same unit cost as a grid or network connected property.
An SPS is a self-sufficient off-grid power source. Energy is generated by the solar panels, powering the property, and charging the batteries for use when the sun isn’t shining. A backup generator also kicks in when needed to keep energy flowing. The unit operates independently of the main electricity grid to store and deliver reliable power to a household or business.
Up to 95% of the SPS electricity comes from solar panels and stored solar energy in the battery.
SPS plays a key role in our strategy to create a more renewable and greener energy future for WA. Using SPS instead of poles and wires on suitable properties and locations has a number of benefits, including:
- Improved power reliability: as power is generated on-site, customers can expect significantly less or no power outages
- Removing overhead network: powerlines will be removed once all properties on the connecting spur have been converted to SPS, allowing us to decommission the overhead network in this area
- Bushfire risk reduction
- Lowering emissions: up to 95% of the SPS electricity comes from solar panels and the stored solar energy in the battery, it plays a role in moving towards a cleaner energy future
- Modular and adaptable: SPS units come in different sizes so they can be adapted to suit a customer’s power needs
- Small footprint: An SPS enclosure requires a small footprint, compared to long feeder lines crossing a property
- Remote monitoring: Our monitoring system can provide real-time visibility of the SPS unit performance, enabling preventative maintenance such as topping up the diesel in an optimised run.
- Greater resilience to severe weather: SPS generates and stores power locally, reducing customers’ exposure to outages caused by storms, bushfires and damage to long overhead powerlines.
- Reduced electric-shock risk: Replacing overhead infrastructure with an SPS enables poles and powerlines to be removed, reducing exposure to electrical hazards associated with damaged or fallen network assets.
We review rural powerlines to identify customers and network areas where SPS may provide a more efficient, reliable and practical alternative to continued overhead network supply. When assessing potential sites, we consider:
- the long-term cost of SPS compared with maintaining or replacing the overhead network
- customer energy needs and connection suitability
- network condition, reliability and safety risks, including bushfire risk
- technical feasibility, land access and environmental requirements.
Currently, only customers who live on properties we’ve identified after a comprehensive feasibility evaluation are eligible. We proactively contact customers who meet the eligibility criteria.
We cover the cost of SPS installation, maintenance, and replacement. This includes site visits and investigations, system installation and ongoing maintenance.
We design SPS to cater for the standard supply of 63A, with up to 40A of inrush, as defined in the Western Australian Service and Installation Requirements (WASIR). Given the range of customer load & consumption requirements, we’ve designed our fleet to be modular and flexible. SPS can be scaled up or down where required.
SPS sizing is based on:
- a detailed review of customer’s historical consumption data, and where available advanced metering (AMI) data
- a site inspection
- the customer’s approved future plans (if applicable).
Our initial customer engagement, site visit and review of historical consumption data is critical in getting the SPS sizing right. The nature, timing and duration of the load being used impacts the PV and battery capacity required for the system. On days with significantly higher overnight energy consumption than usual, or days with cloud cover, back-up generation may be used.
The system design is in accordance with the relevant Australian Standards and a lifecycle assessment is used to identify the optimum mix of solar, battery storage and backup generation. We aim for up to 95% of all energy to be generated from renewable sources.
A single SPS can supply a maximum of five customers, but this may vary depending on the capacity needs of each connection. In most cases due to energy requirements, distance between sites and available space only one SPS is deployed per connection.
While SPS are installed in rural areas, they have significant flow-on benefits for customers in metropolitan and other built-up areas.
SPS operate like a mini-micro-grid, providing self-sufficient, renewable and reliable power on-site for a customer. The first Western Power SPS trial in 2016 looked to understand how new technologies could be used to create renewable energy solutions that deliver improved power quality in a more cost-effective way. These learnings have been used to inform other energy technology developments across the grid.
SPS provides significant cost savings as they reduce the need for poles and wires infrastructure replacement and maintenance in remote areas. These savings are being reinvested back into the network, enabling the roll-out of more energy technology solutions like community batteries in Perth metro or renewable microgrids in regional towns.
With technologies like SPS, our network is transforming. It is becoming more modular with localised energy solutions and more renewable integration, creating a smarter and more sustainable energy future for us all.
Discover how SPS in rural WA started a renewable energy transformation in metro areas
If you require a new connection at your property within 10 years of poles and wires being decommissioned, we will connect your property in accordance with the Electricity Industry (Obligation to Connect) Regulations (2005). As the traditional overhead network will be decommissioned, any new connection at this location will be serviced by a SPS.
To ensure you are not disadvantaged by the removal of the overhead network, we will preserve the network equivalent connection costs for new connection applications for premises within 100 metres of the removed poles and wires, for a period of two years from the date of notification of our intention to decommission the network. This means, if you need a new connection at your property where network infrastructure is scheduled for removal or has already been removed, you will be able to receive that new connection at the lowest cost – either a network equivalent cost or SPS cost, whichever is lower. After the two-year period has expired, any new customers will be required to pay the full cost of an SPS connection.
The preservation of connection costs is attached to the land, not the customer. For example, in cases where an eligible customer decides to sell or subdivide their land, the new landowner(s) of the property or the subdivided land parcels are eligible for the preserved network connection costs if they have bought the property and applied for a new connection within two years of the customer communication regarding decommissioning being sent.
To be eligible to receive a new connection at the ‘lowest cost’ during this period, you will need to provide all relevant planning information (including, but not limited to, building permits, development plans and approvals or certified electrical loads) when applying for a new connection.
You can see where the obligation to connect zone applies by viewing our map.
For more information, please contact us.
We want to keep you safe, so if we identify electrical equipment that is faulty or damaged while we’re on site you will need to fix it at your cost.
Common examples include damaged meter boards, faulty earth stakes, and dilapidated private power poles. If we identify any faulty electrical equipment on your property or areas that require improvement during the site visit, you will be required to remedy this issue at your cost.
In instances where this poses an immediate and critical safety risk, we are legally required to disconnect your power at the meter. We provide a ‘Your Action Required’ pack detailing what needs to be fixed. Customers are required to engage a licensed electrical contractor to rectify these issues at their cost before we can turn power back on.
SPS generate and store electricity at the customer’s property, allowing the long overhead powerlines previously supplying the property to be de-energised and removed. This reduces the risk associated with powerlines exposed to lightning, vegetation, debris and other environmental conditions, helping improve bushfire safety in rural areas.