Pillar 4: Enable smart communities and new customer solutions

Highlights from the past year include:

Stand Alone Power Systems

Stand Alone Power Systems (SAPS) provide an alternative to grid supply for fringe-of-grid, high-cost-to-serve customers. We commenced offering SAPS to some of these customers following the implementation of the national SAPS regulatory framework in late 2022. As of 30 June 2023, we have four SAPS installed, with a target of 400 by 2028-29. Once SAPS are installed, we plan to remove unused poles and wires to minimise risk of network-initiated bushfires and lower our network maintenance costs.

In an Australian-first, we are trialling a hydrogen supported SAPS in a heritage accommodation cottage in Myall Lakes National Park. It is a 100 per cent standalone system, using a solar array, Lithium-ion batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, electrolysers and water storage to power the cottage year-round. Unlike conventional SAPS, it does not rely on fossil fuels, such as diesel generators, for backup power. It is a real-world trial, running from August 2022 to February 2024. The project is a partnership with the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and GreenHy2, and will inform decisions on the best range of high-tech renewable solutions for powering sensitive environments within our network area.

Smart Energy Communities trial

As part of a two-year Smart Energy Communities trial, launched in January 2023, more than 200 customers in the NSW towns of Tea Gardens, Ivanhoe and Tibooburra are using a Wattwatchers smart energy management device and MyEnergy app to monitor their energy use and solar generation. The device and app are providing customers with near real-time information to help them make informed choices about their energy use.

This will provide Essential Energy with a deeper understanding of emerging needs and options for affordable and reliable electricity supply and services as we strengthen our existing community relationships.

Telecommunications Infrastructure

Essential Energy owns and operates a network of fibre optic cable that extends for over 1,600 km across regional NSW. These telecommunication assets support the operation of our distribution network, and enable us to share advanced fibre communications to the surrounding areas and support the renewable energy market under a joint-use arrangement.

In April 2023, we commissioned Universal Communications Group Pty Ltd to construct the West Wyalong Fibre Communications Pathway. Funded by the solar farms it serves, it comprises approximately 100 km of new pit and pipe infrastructure and more than 125 km of fibre optic cable between Temora and West Wyalong.

Essential Energy has also leveraged its vast radio tower network to support key mobile blackspot programs in rural NSW. These new partnerships are critical in unlocking greater telecommunication coverage in areas that have been historically under-served.