The roll out of a new voltage management system will help Powercor and Citipower to better manage voltage usage, subsequently support more solar export and reduce carbon emissions.
The Dynamic Voltage Management Systems (DVMS) has been rolled across Melton and Wyndham, tracking data from smart meters in the state to automatically adjust voltage up or down in real time, to help keep the network performing within an optimal range.
Powercor’s Head of Network Planning Andrew Dinning said voltage management can be influenced by a range of elements, such as the voltage set at the transmission level, solar penetration, length of network supply lines, and customer energy use patterns.
The voltage patterns shift seasonally, daily and hourly making voltage management a 24/7 challenge for networks.
“Managing voltage on our network is important to enable more solar, reduce carbon emissions and keep power accessible and affordable for all our customers,” Mr Dinning said.
“This smart system helps to optimise the network for all of our customers while maximising the number of customers that are able to export excess solar and creating headroom for more connections in future.”
Mr Dinning said the rollout of DVMS is in addition to a major upgrade program undertaken by CitiPower and Powercor that has led to an increase in unrestricted rooftop solar connections approvals from around 60 per cent at the start of 2021 to more than 92 per cent in 2022.
“This is one part of our five-year Future Networks program, which is about supporting customers to connect more solar, batteries and EVs, lower their power bills and reduce their environmental footprint,” Mr Dinning said.
“By using this smarter system, we expect that more than 95% of our customers who apply to export solar will be able to connect and export excess energy, allowing more homes and businesses to share cleaner energy across their communities.”
