Demand management trial set for national rollout

Origin Energy and UK-based start-up Tempus Energy recently partnered on a South Australian demand management trial that uses AI to shift energy usage to different times of the day — with results so impressive that the trial will be rolled out nationally.

Tempus Energy’s cloud-based software was trialled with large Origin customers in South Australia, including Adelaide Oval and Adelaide University. The integration of the software saw these customers run assets like industrial air conditioning more flexibly, predicting higher price periods and then shifting non-critical load into times of the day when prices are lower.

“During the trial, we’ve seen the Tempus algorithms drive a shifting of customers’ usual load to a different time of day in response to predicted high price periods,” said Greg Jarvis, Origin’s Executive General Manager Energy Supply and Operations.

Tempus analysis showed that price was very strongly correlated to carbon intensity, with high pool prices signalling periods when carbon-intensive generators were working. Avoiding these periods also helped to lower the carbon footprint of these customers, achieving carbon savings of up to 21% on assets where the technology was being used.

“Across all trial customers, the trial has successfully shifted more than 200 MWh of load to reduce their cost and carbon emissions,” Jarvis said.

“Expanding this trial is one way how we are helping our customers find smarter ways to improve how they use energy.”

Origin is a founding member of Free Electrons, a global start-up accelerator where start-ups work with leading utilities. Tempus was in the accelerator’s 2017 intake.

“We’re delighted with the results achieved in South Australia and to be continuing our partnership with Origin to roll out this trial nationally,” said Tempus Energy founder and CEO Sara Bell.

“Results like these provide a real signal that the Tempus software can play an important role in helping customers reduce cost and help balance the grid.”

Commercial and industrial electricity users with flexible assets like chillers, heat pumps, grid-scale batteries, solar systems and production machinery interested in participating in the trial should contact Origin’s Business Energy Solutions Team at businessenergysolutions@originenergy.com.au. The national rollout will run until mid-2019.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Sharpshot