Australian government owned bank Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has lent $50m to Intellihub so it can ramp up its deployment of smart meters.

The CEFC says it wants to give consumers the power to control their own energy systems, with access to smart technology so they can orchestrate the way their solar panels, home batteries, EV chargers, air conditioning and hot water systems and more use energy.

The $50m loan commitment will see Intellihub – Australia’s largest provider of smart metering devices – ramp up the deployment of its smart meters and lift investment in smart behind-the-meter (BTM) devices.

Smart meters, together with smart BTM devices, are a critical part of Australia’s future, cleaner, energy mix, and are set to play a key role in grid reliability. They also mean consumers are better able to benefit from lower cost renewable energy, including that generated on their own rooftops.

Smart meters can help consumers measure, balance, control and dispatch energy from their energy assets, from solar panels to home batteries, EV charging infrastructure, air conditioning and hot water systems.

Smart BTM devices give consumers the ability to manage their electricity consumption, tapping into lower cost power prices and limiting demand peaks on the energy grid.

“One of the most exciting things about the energy transition is that it quite literally puts more power into the hands of consumers,” said CEFC CIO Monique Miller. “More and more Australians are generating and storing their own electricity, using the energy of the sun to power their cars as well as their energy efficient appliances, backed up by home batteries. By using smart meters and smart behind-the-meter devices we can better understand when and how we use energy and make changes that will save on power costs as well as reduce our carbon footprint. Smart meters and BTM devices are also important for the better management of our energy grid. As we increase the share of renewables in our grid, these new technologies can give grid operators real-time information about energy consumption, so they can better manage grid reliability.”

Intellihub CEO Wes Ballantine added: “We would like to thank the CEFC for its continued support. We believe our work in facilitating greater take up and coordination of consumer energy resource devices can make a meaningful impact on the stability of the grid. The support of the CEFC is helping us make that vision a reality.”

The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has made a draft rule to accelerate the deployment of smart meters to energy customers by 2030, bringing to life foundational recommendations from its smart meter review and placing consumers at the forefront of the transition to net zero.

AEMC (www.aemc.gov.au) estimates an accelerated deployment of smart meters targeting universal uptake by 2030 would provide net benefits of $507m for New South Wales, Queensland, Australian Capital Territory and South Australia.

The CEFC (www.cefc.com.au) was an early investor in Intellihub, committing $75m to back the growth of the smart metering business. Intellihub subsequently announced a $1.45bn green loan facility, with the CEFC finance repaid in December 2021.

Intellihub (www.intellihub.com.au) and Arena (Australian Renewable Energy Agency) are co-developing digital infrastructure in the form of a demand flexibility platform to enable the orchestration of more than 100,000 devices totalling over 500MW on the demand flexibility platform.

Separately, Arena (arena.gov.au) and AEMO (aemo.com.au) are developing a national consumer energy resource data exchange to make it possible for energy companies to integrate small-scale energy resources – such a rooftop solar and home batteries – into the electricity system.