This Report details the Lessons Learnt at the mid-point of the Project covering such topics as ‘who owns data’, tariff comparison learnings, cost sensitivity and device retrofitting, and the impact of solar inverter remote disconnection regulations in SA.
Report extract
The My Energy Marketplace (MEM) project, led by Wattwatchers Digital Energy and running over three years (2019 to 2022), has reached its half-way point. The MEM is exploring a data-driven model for engaging and empowering electricity consumers to be active participants in the emerging digital-and-distributed energy system in Australia.
In particular, the MEM project focuses on residential and small business consumers, plus schools and school communities. The MEM project has now deployed smart energy management solutions to over 400 households and small businesses and 44 schools. Data is also being processed for 100 smart meters to demonstrate how data from non-Wattwatchers devices integrates into the MEM. These continue to build on the momentum from the initial pilots and demonstrations, towards the full project deployment targets of 5,000 homes and small businesses, 250 schools and 1,500 non-Wattwatchers devices.
The MEM deals mainly with data collected from devices that consumers can control themselves, and that are often associated with energy assets owned by consumers—such as solar and battery system inverters and ‘smart devices’ like Wattwatchers’ monitoring and control products. Core issues for deploying such solutions at consumer sites include upfront and ongoing costs, installation of physical equipment, and considerations of consumer data rights.