Backing up South Australia's generation capacity

Enel X and the SA Government will support businesses who want to participate in demand response.

RWTA Member, Enel X, is investing in a program with the South Australian government to unlock the potential for cheaper more reliable electricity, with backup generator upgrades across 40 South Australian businesses.

Enel X is currently looking for more businesses to join theBackup Boost Program, with no upfront costs to business looking to participate.

The $4 million Backup Boost Program will connect businesses’ backup generators to support grid supply and demand management, and is designed to deliver more affordable and reliable electricity to South Australian households and SME’s.

Head of Enel X Asia and Oceania, Jeff Renaud, said there is significant latent demand response capability in South Australia, which can be captured relatively quickly to address system security, reliability and affordability concerns.

This program will contribute to electricity system reliability and provide network benefits by reducing excessive electricity demand during peak periods. This is done by switching from grid power to onsite backup generation.

The project funding will go toward physical and software requirements to connect businesses.

The program will bring approximately 20 megawatts of demand side generation capacity into the National Electricity Market (NEM) over the three-year trial.

The initiative is suited to small to medium sized commercial and industrial businesses across agribusiness, food processing, health, manufacturing, data storage and more.

Once the program is active, Enel X will be able to remotely access a business’ generator with the aim of seamlessly managing use to ensure on-site activity is not disrupted. The generator will only be accessed when wholesale prices spiked or if there were grid security issues.

The trial will cement South Australia as a world leader in addressing the challenges of a changing energy generation mix, and will capture the opportunities associated with a more active demand side.

For more information, get in touch with Enel-X to learn more.