South Australia remains at the forefront of the global energy transformation. This is bringing with it a range of challenges as renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and storage and distributed energy resources in homes and businesses continue to displace traditional generation and drive two-way power flows across the network.
The transmission network is playing an essential role in helping to manage an increasingly complex power system, providing important system services, that are being lost as conventional thermal generation decommits, to ensure safe, secure, reliable and affordable supply of electricity to customers into the future.
The identified need of this RIT-T is to ensure sufficient static and dynamic voltage control capability within South Australia to satisfy S5.1a.4, S5.1.4 and S5.1.8 of the National Electricity Rules (NER).
The gap in voltage control capability is estimated as 200-400 Mvar reactive power support capability in the Adelaide Metropolitan region and 50-100 Mvar in the South East of South Australia.
We have identified three credible network options that are technically and economically feasible and meet the identified need. These options include transmission and distribution connected static and dynamic reactive power control.
We consider that non-network options may also be able to assist in meeting the identified need.
ElectraNet welcomes written submissions on this Project Specification Consultation Report (PSCR) by 17 March 2023. Submissions are sought on the options presented, any other credible options available to address the identified need, the classification of this identified need for reliability corrective action and the assessment of materiality of market benefit categories.
A summary of the PSCR is made available on AEMO’s website. A copy of the PSCR can be obtained from ElectraNet's website or by emailing consultation@electranet.com.au.