Roadmap for WA’s distributed energy future

Energy Networks Australia has welcomed the Western Australian (WA) Government’s Distributed Energy Resources Roadmap that will help tackle the challenges of a changing energy system.

Customers across the country are embracing household solar and batteries at a world-leading rate, and Western Australia is among the highest adopters of the technology.

These distributed energy resources (DER) present benefits but also challenges to our distribution networks that were not designed to handle the two-way energy flow and variable generation.

Energy Networks Australia CEO Andrew Dillon said the WA Government’s roadmap was leading the charge on addressing DER integration issues.

“We are moving rapidly from a system dominated by a few large-scale thermal generators to one with more decentralised generation from millions of rooftops,” Mr Dillon said.

“The focus on tariff trials to encourage more efficient uses of electricity and grid-scale batteries to provide security for the Western Australian system are key steps to enable the energy transformation.

“Energy networks around the country are working to accommodate the massive rise in household solar and storage.

“This process will involve both new technology but also the need to provide clear incentives for customers to signal when energy use will be most efficient for the system.

“Being smarter about how customers are charged for their energy consumption will maximise the benefits from household solar and battery storage devices.”

Energy Networks Australia and its Western Australian members look forward to working with the WA Government to implement the roadmap successfully.