MORE than 1,000 Surf Coast and Bellarine Peninsula residents have shared in $50,000 as part of a Powercor program that helped reduce energy demand on the local network on hot summer days.<\/p>\n
Energy Partner \u2013 a demand management program conducted between December 1, 2018 and March 31, 2019 \u2013 financially rewarded households for reducing their electricity use on high peak demand days.<\/p>\n
On one day alone, this helped save 474kW, or enough electricity to power more than 200 homes.<\/p>\n
As part of the program, a smart device was installed in 1067 participants\u2019 homes to allow both residents and network distribution business Powercor to set temperatures on air conditioning units.<\/p>\n
Three peak events were declared and 93 per cent of participants got involved.<\/p>\n
Powercor head of digital (network) Luke Skinner said participants had successfully reduced electricity demand on the Waurn Ponds and Drysdale zone substations during days of high energy use.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy taking part, customers were able to earn up to $60 for making some simple steps to reduce their energy use.<\/p>\n
\u201cPowercor is focused on delivering a reliable, affordable, safe and flexible network for all customers and demand management allows us to cost effectively manage our networks.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn hot days, energy use can skyrocket and this puts pressure on power infrastructure.By increasing the temperature on their air conditioners by a few degrees, our participants played a big part in reducing peak demand on the local network.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy curbing demand during these peak periods, we are able to defer expensive upgrades to accommodate just a handful of days and keep power prices lower for customers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Registered households received a free \u2018Sensibo Sky\u2019, a small controller that connects to a split system air conditioner via wi fi and allowed the unit to be controlled via an app.<\/p>\n
On days when a peak event was declared, Powercor notified households when it intended to set the temperature on the air conditioner up to a maximum of 26 degrees.<\/p>\n
Customers had time to pre-cool the home and were also able to opt-out of events.<\/p>\n
Participants received $20 for every event they participated in.<\/p>\n
The Energy Partners program will continue in 2019\/2020.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MORE than 1,000 Surf Coast and Bellarine Peninsula residents have shared in $50,000 as part of a Powercor program that helped reduce energy demand on the local network on hot summer days. Energy Partner \u2013 a demand management program conducted between December 1, 2018 and March 31, 2019 \u2013 financially rewarded households for reducing their […]<\/p>\n