Case Study: Ausgrid achieves smarter grid flexibility with Evergen’s Virtual Power Plant platform

Ausgrid - Customer Case Study

Ausgrid, an electricity distribution network, sought to explore how a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) could utilize residential renewable energy to maximize grid efficiency and reduce customer costs. Their challenge was to test the reliability of VPPs for providing short-term demand reductions and voltage support services as a potential alternative to costly network infrastructure upgrades. They partnered with vendor Evergen to leverage its Distributed Energy Resource Management System (DERMS) platform for this trial.

Evergen implemented its DERMS platform to aggregate and control a diverse fleet of customer-owned batteries from multiple manufacturers. The solution enabled Ausgrid to easily dispatch power from the VPP, delivering an average of 431.7 kWh per event and successfully providing grid support during peak demand. The trial proved commercially and technically viable, avoiding an estimated 1.86 tonnes of CO2 from the January dispatches alone. Evergen also demonstrated significant agility in platform development and achieved a 38.8% customer conversion rate for the program, with participants reporting high satisfaction and a willingness to join future VPPs.

Ausgrid

Junayd Hollis

EGM Asset Management