Monday 19 April 2010

Dialogue becomes a possibility with smart networks

Summaries - Australian Financial ReviewI
Tuesday 13/4/2010 Page: 4

The traditional approach to reading an electricity meter was to have an employee of a distribution network read meters at homes. However, smart meters can automatically acquire such information and identify issues before the consumer even notices. General Electric digital energy vice-president Bob Gilligan, who last month attended the National Smart Grids Forum in Sydney, says that smart grids allow users to sell their own electricity, which can be generated by wind or photovoltaic grids. Portuguese state-owned holding company Energias de Portugal is implementing a pilot grid project.

According to a case study by Logica, 50,000 energy boxes will be installed by the end of March. The head of the roll-out, Jose Antunes, is aware that Portugal has set a renewable energy target of 31% by 2020. Energy Networks Association chief executive Andrew Blyth says that Australia, which has set an RET of 20% by 2020, is neither behind nor ahead of other countries regarding to the so-called "digitisation of energy."

Smart network groups hope that Australia's national broadband network will reach some sort of synergy with their services. The head of global consulting services in Asia, Australia and Japan for Software AG, Steve Keys, says that smart networks can provide updates once in every 30 minutes. The Government last year called for tenders for a $100 million initiative called Smart Grid, Smart City.

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