The purpose of this document is to provide an interim update on the Customer Insights work undertaken by Customer Service Benchmarking Australia (CSBA) for the AEMO Virtual Power Plant (VPP) Demonstration project. It details the approach taken by CSBA and summarises some preliminary insights deriving from the first survey and the qualitative research to date.
Report extract
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), with support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), are conducting VPP Demonstrations with a range of specific objectives. These include:
- Demonstrating VPPs’ capability to deliver multiple value streams (for example, frequency control ancillary services [FCAS], energy and potential network services).
- Developing AEMO’s operational visibility of VPPs.
- Assessing regulatory arrangements for VPPs.
- Providing insights on how to better understand consumers’ experiences of VPPs, and improve this experience in future.
- Assess the cyber security capabilities of VPPs and determine if augmentation is required.
In July 2019, AEMO commissioned Customer Service Benchmarking Australia (CSBA) to investigate and provide specific insights on how to improve consumers’ VPP experience.