Following deployment in an air conditioning trial, CitiPower and Powercor have retained the option to use mPrest’s mDERMS application suite to provide low voltage network Demand Response (DR) and load management as it looks to support Australia’s energy transition.
Melbourne, VI and Tel Aviv, IL – December 8, 2021 – mPrest, a leading developer and provider of distributed asset orchestration and optimization software for the energy market, today announced the extension of an option for their mDERMS partnership with CitiPower and Powercor Australia for another year.
As one of the first grid operators to deploy a DERMS locally in 2020, CitiPower and Powercor selected mPrest to manage its Distributed Energy Resources (DER). CitiPower and Powercor’s grid supplies power to over 1.2 million residential households and commercial customers in Victoria. mDERMS was deployed using cloud-connected air conditioning controllers, to reduce electricity demands during peak periods for about 100 customers through the Energy Partner Program trial.
“Following the proven success of mDERMS in 2020/2021, we’re pleased to continue working together with CitiPower and Powercor as it supports Australia’s energy transition and expands its demand management and related capabilities,” said Andrew Bennett, CEO of mPrest. “Our suite of applications revolutionizes the way energy companies, distribution and transmission utilities and energy retailers manage their systems.”
On high demand summer days in Victoria, areas of the power grid network can become strained during peak periods, mainly due to air conditioner loads. In their trial, CitiPower and Powercor were able to use mDERMS to reduce the load of air conditioners that belong to customers who have elected to participate in DR management programs.
In addition to providing the ability to use mDERMS to manage grid overload challenges, the application’s enhanced DERMS capabilities can be leveraged by clients for other planned distributed energy-related projects, including those addressing hosting capacity, solar exports, network batteries, market participation and ancillary services.
For network operators, mDERMS uniquely acts as a system of systems, integrating not only with grid internal control technologies, but also with external aggregators, Virtual Power Plant (VPP) operators and microgrid management systems, to provide network wide and end-to-end front of meter and behind the meter DER management and optimization.
The mDERMS solution suite also includes a version specifically designed for aggregators and VPPs themselves, allowing them to manage their respective DER assets and integrate with the energy market and any network operator.
