To manage complexities as more renewable energy enters the grid, Transgrid is proposing a $179.2 million smart control room upgrade.
This upgrade aims to enable the utility to continue maintaining reliability and efficiencies for both generators and consumers as Australia transitions to clean energy.
Transgrid Acting Executive General Manager of Network, Jason Krstanoski, said the utility’s control rooms operate around the clock, and are the nerve centre of the New South Wales and ACT high-voltage electricity network, ensuring the safe, secure and reliable flow of power, particularly during system events.
“As New South Wales replaces its small number of coal-fired power stations with hundreds of renewable generators, control room operators face increasingly complex, less predictable conditions due to the intermittent nature of the solar and wind energy feeding the grid,” he said.
“The grid’s operators also face an increasing number of alarms from more devices across the network to respond to in real time, already experiencing an increase of 200 per cent in the last two years.
“That’s why we are planning a critical upgrade to arm control room operators with smarter tools, better training and faster decision-making to ensure stability and reliability in a rapidly changing energy landscape.”
Under the $179.2 million proposal, advanced upgrades would be carried out to Transgrid’s Energy Management System, alarm management, outage coordination, look ahead forecasting and training simulators.
This investment in control room technologies is expected to deliver $111.3 million in net market benefits over 15 years by reducing the risk of outages and increasing network utilisation.
“Investing in smarter control room controls and technologies is essential to keep the lights on and ensure we can safely and reliably bring more clean energy into the system,” Mr Krstanoski said.
“The upgrades would enhance the ability of our control room operators to monitor and manage incidents in real-time, making the grid smarter and more efficient, which benefits everybody.
“Reducing the likelihood of blackouts provides greater certainty for the operators of renewable generators, ensuring fewer interruptions to the flow of their cleaner and cheaper energy to consumers. Consumers would also benefit from increased access to sustainable and affordable power while avoiding the cost and disruption of potential outages.”
The $179.2 million proposal has been identified as a preferred option in Transgrid’s Project Assessment Draft Report (PADR), a key milestone in the public cost benefit analysis the utility is undertaking to identify the most cost-effective and efficient technologies for this project.
This proposed investment will enable faster incident responses, lower carbon emissions, and more supply from renewable energy. More information about the benefits of the proposal for consumers can be found here.
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has confirmed Transgrid’s plans align with national energy transition goals.
Following assessment of submissions to the PADR, Transgrid will develop a Project Assessment Conclusions Report, the final stage of the Regulatory Investment Test for Transmission process.
This proactive approach is part of Transgrid’s comprehensive System Security Roadmap, a ten-year plan to transform the state’s power system and ensure the secure operation of the grid at up to 100 per cent instantaneous renewables.
