Distribution networks are faced with the growing challenge of hosting consumer-owned grid-integrated rooftop solar systems (RTS) or residential Solar PV on their networks. Exactly how much Solar PV capacity a LV feeder can comfortably host has been anybody’s guess. Estimates started at ~40% of feeder/transformer rating, when regulations allowing grid-integrated RTS were introduced some 20…
Electricity Distribution Price Reviews (EDPR or Price Reviews) are a sales process. Utilities need to sell customer outcomes to the Regulator. The Regulator, a proxy for the customer, wants proof that identified outcomes can be delivered and provide value for money. Utilities need to manage this tension between delivering customer outcomes and optimising the most…
The fundamentals of the energy industry are transforming, driven by a host of societal, policy and technological changes. Energy generation is becoming increasingly decentralised. The grid is rapidly ‘digitising’, leveraging a host of IT/OT tools and solutions such as AI to incorporate renewable energy resources and Distributed Energy Resources (DER), whilst all the time striving…
The Energy Transition is very publicly underway driven by a host of technological advancements in energy generation and storage, government policy and changes in customer preferences. This is leading to a rapid growth in adoption of Distribution Energy Resources (DER) and a paradigm shift in Energy. In this environment, asset and customer information is fragmented…
The invention of electricity empowered the creation of industries and opportunities for work, lighting and the opportunity to learn and long-distance communication and opportunity to be heard. Whilst in the twenty first century access to reliable, inexpensive and in more recent times’ clean forms of electricity have become an essential service, over one quarter of…
The Australian energy landscape is undergoing one of the most significant transformations in history. In the last decade, Australians have embraced rooftop solar enthusiastically, with over two million rooftop solar PV systems installed across the country. This has led to one of the highest levels of distributed energy resource (DER) penetration in the world with…
There is currently a ‘perfect storm’ brewing around Waste-to-Energy (WtE). With elevated energy futures prices following the recent federal election, electricity price pressure is likely to intensify for large energy users, including water utilities, and many of these energy users have sustainability goals that include target proportion of renewable energy usage. Meanwhile, following waste import…
As the drought in mainland south eastern Australia intensifies and water storage levels continue to fall[1] water businesses are scaling up investments in innovation to bolster water supplies. Particularly in states along the east coast being hardest hit, MHC is seeing a sharper focus on investments like digital technology to reduce non-revenue water and increased…
MHC recently presented at the Renewable Cities Conference in Sydney on smart incentive policies for electric vehicles. Drawing on our work with battery-based virtual power plants and the emerging importance of a “grid edge platform” Sarah Paparo spoke on the opportunity to extend these concepts to electric vehicles in order to maximise the opportunity for…
On Friday, 24th of May, the MHC team sponsored and attended the energy industry evening at the University of Melbourne hosted by student organisation, MESA. The event attracted over 100 enthusiastic students, ten industry partners and even the Victorian Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, The Hon. Lily D’Ambrosio for a wonderful night centred…