Suzanne Falvi
Australia needs a forward-thinking plan to get its energy system ‘market ready’ for an EV future.
So says the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) in a new issues paper released as part of its 2020 retail energy competition review.
“Electric vehicles will boost demand for electricity and could have a big impact on the energy market,” commission acting chief executive Suzanne Falvi says.
She says EV sales have risen by more than 200% between 2018 and 2019 – “and we need to lock in lower cost ways to support consumers who want them”. The commission notes the rise in EV sales has occurred while internal combustion engine (ICE) sales have been declining, but that Australia’s EV sales have been “modest” relative to global trends
“We’re starting a conversation with this issues paper to generate ideas and identify what barriers to innovation there might be that could stop new electric vehicle products and services reaching consumers.”
The issues paper cites EV price and range as major concerns for Australian consumers, but says increasingly lower priced and higher range models are entering the market.
“Australia currently has 22 battery and plug in hybrid electric vehicle models available and in 2020 it is expected that at least nine more models will be introduced.”
The paper notes public charging stations as one example of how EVs can have a large impact on the grid. One charging station built in Adelaide in 2017 with eight chargers was equivalent to the connection of 100 new homes.
The paper also says that while EVs have an obvious value as a mode of clean transport, they could also benefit the market by promoting more efficient use of existing infrastructure.
“Electric vehicles have potential to put energy power back in the hands of consumers and help keep the system reliable and secure,” Falvi says.
“With the right systems in place, households can charge their vehicles when energy is cheap and have the option to sell power back into the grid when it’s more expensive. Along with solar PV and smart appliances, electric vehicles can be part of a consumer’s future tool kit to reduce their energy output when prices are high.”
The issues paper says digitalisation will see smart and flexible charging systems benefitting consumers without any conscious effort. It also says that if given the right market signals, EV charging load could provide a significant demand response resource for the system.
Technology developments might also mean greater potential for households to use EV batteries ‘behind the meter’ to soak up excess rooftop solar generation and then discharge electricity to their own home or to the grid. But so far, limited EV uptake means there aren’t many retail products targeting this market.
“Electric vehicles are an opportunity for retailers or new energy providers to innovate with new residential products,” Falvi says. “While existing consumer protections must apply to new products and services, we need to make sure that existing rules and regulations don’t stifle innovation.”
The commission wants to know what products and services are being developed, both for residential and public charging — for example, in workplaces, shopping centres and car parks – and whether retail market competition is resulting in innovation in this space.
Submissions to the issues paper close on March 19.
