FAQ

Western Power partnered with commercial and industrial businesses in Western Australia to build flexibility services into customer solutions as a way to create a more sustainable, reliable and innovative network for the future. With Western Power’s customers now not only consuming energy but also supplying energy, they needed to change the way the network is managed to enable this two-way flow of energy. At critical times of low loads, this means curtailing solar generation and increasing loads like charging batteries or scheduling processes such as pumping water.

Through this program, Western Australian businesses can determine the best way to manage their distributed energy resources in a way that meets their needs and provides network support, in return for compensation by Western Power.

The program was implemented in a very short time frame. Western Power selected Schneider Electric to provide the platform in April of 2020, with implementation, customer recruitment all happening before September 2020. The first of two control seasons concluded in November. 

This innovative program is one of the ways this forward-thinking utility is smoothing out their ‘duck curve’ into a ‘platypus’ and enabling a future where more renewables can be connected to the grid.