In your Community
Stand Alone Power Systems
What is a Stand Alone Power System?
Ausgrid is trialling Stand Alone Power Systems (known as SAPS) to;
- Deliver cost savings for all customers
- Provide a safer network for customers and our work force
- Test reliability improvements for remote customers
- Support the transition to renewable energy.
The Stand Alone Power Systems will be trialled initially in the Central Coast and Hunter regions. Over the next two years, Ausgrid will offer targeted landowners in the identified trial areas, who live in hard to access or remote environments and where the supply of electricity is likely to be more efficient via a Stand Alone Power System, the chance to be part of this innovative program.
Stand alone power systems operate independently of the grid and supply continuous power 24 hours a day, using a mix of solar and battery storage and backup generation.
It is a local solution that allows customers and the wider community to share in the multiple benefits that stand-alone power systems can provide. The Ausgrid Stand Alone Power Systems trial aims to show how;
- the installation of a SAPS could improve reliability and resilience during extreme weather events for identified participants
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cost savings to all customers could be achieved as a result of not having to repair and maintain remote parts of the distribution network.
Community and Customer Engagement
Engagement is more than just sharing information. By engaging with the community, Ausgrid works in good faith to communicate openly and clearly to ensure people are informed about our activities and decisions.
Please refer to the Stand Alone Power System Engagement Framework for information on how we engagement with landholders and communities on the installation of SAPS.
Have another question? Email Ausgrid Innovation Program on innovation@ausgrid.com.au.
SAPS Trial Update
We have completed the installation and commissioning of SAPS for customers who participated in phase 1 of the trial and over the next year we will be monitoring and evaluating the performance.
Ausgrid is now starting phase 2 of the trial where up to 30 landowners who live in hard to access or remote areas across the Hunter region will be invited to participate.
Over the next few months we will be meeting with selected customers to provide more information about the trial and to further assess suitability to participate in the trial. Ausgrid will then organise an energy audit to better understand their energy consumption patterns. Following engagement and planning, Ausgrid will then be able to finalise the participants for phase 2 of the SAPS trial.
What are the benefits?
The key benefit of SAPS is an improvement in resilience and reliability of supply for those customers in hard-to-reach areas and the reduction in cost of maintenance of the network.
Other benefits include:
- reduced environmental impact: SAPS primarily use clean, renewable energy sources to generate and store energy
- better value: SAPS drive down network and maintenance costs, benefiting all our customers in the long-term
- improved safety: once poles and wires are removed, hazards such as tree fall and dropping branches, and bushfire risk are minimised. Planned outages for vegetation clearing and maintenance would also no longer be required
- reduced asset footprint and maintenance access: SAPS require less footprint than kilometres of poles and wires and there would only be requirement to access the property where the SAPS is located.
What are the benefits?
The expected key benefits of introducing SAPS will be an improvement in resilience and reliability of supply for those customers in hard-to-reach areas and the reduction in cost of maintenance of the network. Other expected benefits will include a reduction in bushfire and safety risk when remote poles and wires are able to be removed. Also, where there are clusters of inhabitants, these systems could be expanded into a micro-grid. This trial is a first step and if successful will inform a potential larger trial.
Preliminary Research
In March 2021, Ausgrid surveyed customers in regional and remote parts of our distribution area to seek feedback and interest in an innovative trial to improve electricity supply and network resilience to extreme weather events. The survey results have assisted Ausgrid to complete further planning and to identify potential participants to take part in the initial phase of a Stand Alone Power Systems (SAPS) trial. Ausgrid’s SAPS trial will be developed as a local solution that will allow customers and the wider community to share in the multiple benefits that stand alone power systems can provide.
Survey summary report
Highlights from the survey
- Improved reliability was the main reason for interest in the trial
- Weather events such as storms and bushfires were identified as the main reason for causing issues with supply reliability and around half of those surveyed thought impacts from storms and bushfires will increase over time
- There was a very high level of interest in finding out more about the SAPS trial, with almost half rating their interest as 10 out of 10
- Those who are most interested in SAPS value the fact they will have a reliable supply and can be grid independent. Around two-thirds surveyed had already thought about or researched going “off-grid”
- Around half of those surveyed felt completely comfortable (10 out of 10) with a network company providing a SAPS solution compared to their retailer (21%) or a private company (16%)