Newcastle
*check against delivery
It is great to be here in Newcastle this morning to mark another important milestone in the Smart Grid, Smart City project.
The Smart Grid, Smart City Information Centre we are officially opening today will be the shopfront for the project.
It provides a vital link between the community and project operators.
Information and community engagement
The technology being developed and tested as part of the Smart Grid, Smart City project is both cutting-edge and consumer focussed.
That is why this centre is so critical.
Consumers need to be able to readily access quality, easy to understand information about this project – what it is trying to achieve and what it means for them.
They must have an opportunity to learn about this new technology and have their questions answered.
Because, as with all new developments, part of the success of any given project depends on taking the community with you.
I think unfortunately in the case of Victoria’s mandated smart meter roll-out, this is could have been done better.
The community must be onside first.
And that means transparency and genuine community engagement – exactly what this centre is designed to achieve.
It is a high quality facility and I congratulate the consortium partners on its development.
The Smart Grid, Smart City project will allow consumers to test for themselves the benefits smart technology can bring.
And these findings will be disseminated to inform the potential deployment of this technology more broadly across Australia.
The potential benefits of smart grids
Issues around energy supply, energy use and energy sources are increasingly prominent in the minds not just of governments and industry, but also the broader community in the context of increasing costs and the need to lower our greenhouse gas emissions.
The work being undertaken as part of the Smart Grid, Smart City project is integral to informing the potential future directions we take when it comes to Australia’s energy market.
The $100 million in funding the Government is providing to this project reflects our commitment to testing a wide variety of technologies and approaches that go to the question not only of how we generate electricity but also how we use it.
The Government’s action to put a price on carbon alongside our support for clean and renewable technology - through the $3.2 billion Australian Renewable Energy Agency and the $10 billion Clean Energy Finance Corporation - is seeking to bring about a transformation in our energy mix.
Continuing to deliver reliable and competitively priced energy supply, while transitioning to lower emission energy sources is a complex, long-term challenge.
Smart grid technologies could be part of the solution.
They may have the potential to revolutionise the way we use electricity.
But as with all new technologies smart grids need to be properly tested before decisions are made about possible widespread deployment.
As you will see in this Centre, smarter technologies and applications could help improve efficiency and competition to ultimately benefit the consumer.
Meeting peak demand is one of the biggest pressures pushing up the cost of electricity, and smarter use of our appliances could help ease that pressure.
Smart technologies can show consumers – at a glance – how much energy they’re using, its costs, and ways to reduce their bills.
And for network business, smart grids can manage voltage, and pinpoint infrastructure that needs fixing.
If the benefits of smart technologies are proven and they are adopted around the country, yearly savings in CO2 emissions could, potentially, be measured in megatonnes.
In short, smart grids could improve network efficiency and lower costs, increase the penetration of renewable generation, and empower consumers to better manage their energy bills.
The Smart Grid, Smart City demonstration project is seeking to test all these possibilities at scale.
And I know the Newcastle Community is a great place for this test as, like the Newcastle 2030 Community Strategic Plan, this project is about smart living in a low-emissions economy.
It’s a vision the whole community can be proud of.
Conclusion
And it is a vision being delivered through close collaboration between industry, governments and consumers.
I thank Ausgrid and its consortium partners, the Energy Networks Association, Energy Retailers Association and the Australian Energy Market Commission, Operator and Regulator for your commitment and cohesive approach.
An approach that is being closely followed by smart grid experts from around the world, some of whom join us here today.
Australia is part of the International Energy Agency’s International Smart Grid Action Network, who are working to find better ways to apply international developments on smart grids and meters.
Who knows maybe Australia-wide or even international advances in energy efficiency may, in the future, have their origins here in Newcastle – a smart city.
Thank you and congratulations again on this impressive new centre.