2011

Labor Road-tests Technocratic Socialism with the Smart Grid on Newcastle City
Date 12/10/2011

Smart Grid, Smart City: Road-testing the NBNs Synergies.

Press release by the Newcastle City Council and related organisations. More deployment of the Smart Grid is coming to Sydney CBD, NSW.

Note: Technocratic Socialism is meant to signify a combination of technocractic and socialist elements in the government structure and ideology. This separates technocratic socialism from conventional socialism in regards to government control of the economy via nationalisation and centralisation of economic activity. In the case of technocratic socialism; the government uses technology to centralise, plan, command and control the economy and human activity. Control of the economy in technocratic socialism is achieved by high level if not outright control, distribution and use of energy for purported socialist ends. *************************************************** Smart Grid, Smart City Excitement is building over the opening of the new Smart Grid, Smart City Centre located on the foreshore at 19 Honeysuckle Drive, Newcastle 2300. The Smart Grid, Smart City Centre features information and displays on a range of energy initiatives including advice on energy efficiency and ways to save on power and water bills. Information about trial technologies, electric vehicles, renewable energy, lighting displays and much more.

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The Centre will be open this Saturday 3 September from 10am to 5pm and includes:

a day-long program of family activities displays and information about community programs aimed at sustainable energy and water use face painting and childrens activities BBQ hosted by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service special appearances of Newcastle Knights players

The local area also has the Maritime Centre, newly opened Newcastle Museum and the fabulous L!vesites, 'Waste Knot' art exhibition stretching from Honeysuckle to Nobby's Beach.

http://www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/about_newcastle/news_and_events/media_releases/media_ releases/smart_grid,_smart_city Press release by Ausgrid on Newcastle Citys Smart Grid, Smart City.

*************************************************** Smart Grid Smart City Having won the Australian Governments Smart Grid, Smart City bid, Ausgrid is now working on the project that will keep Australia at the forefront of energy technology and lead to ground breaking changes to the countrys energy industry. Australias first commercial-scale smart grid (Smart Grid, Smart City) will be based in Newcastle, New South Wales, in a demonstration project that will help lead to Australia-wide advances in energy management. Parts of the trial will also be conducted in Newington, Sydneys CBD, Ku-ring-gai and Scone. This initiative will gather robust information about the costs and benefits of smart grids to inform future decisions by government, electricity providers, technology suppliers and consumers across Australia. A smart grid is a new type of electricity network that uses advanced communication, sensing and metering that more efficiently manages electricity supply and demand. Smart grids give households the ability to better manage their energy use by providing information about how much energy is being used and the estimated costs.

Smart Grid, Smart City will also trial distributed storage which can provide extra electricity to the power supply during peak periods.
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The Ausgrid consortium testing the smart grid technologies and ensuring their suitability for Australian conditions includes IBM Australia, GE Energy, AGL, CSIRO,Transgrid, and Newcastle City Council.

More information: Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Media Release Newcastle to be Australias First Smart Grid Smart City http://www.ausgrid.com.au/Common/Network-projects/Network-projects/Smart-gridprojects/Smart-Grid-Smart-City.aspx Minister Penny Wong on Smart Grid, Smart City Newscastle

http://climatechange.gov.au/minister/previous/wong/2010/mediareleases/June/mr20100607a.aspx *************************************************** Newcastle to be Australia's first Smart Grid Smart City Media release Minister for Resources and Energy, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Minister Assisting the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency 7 June 2010 131/10 Newcastle will be the site of Australias first commercial-scale smart grid, in a project that will help Australians to save energy, connect renewable energy to the grid and to tackle climate change. To commence in mid 2010, the $100 million Smart Grid, Smart City demonstration project in Newcastle is expected to lead to Australia-wide advances in energy efficiency. Minister for Climate Change, Energy Efficiency and Water, Senator Penny Wong, today announced in Newcastle that a consortium, led by EnergyAustralia, was the winning bidder. The main demonstration site will be in the city of Newcastle, with other parts of the trial to be conducted in Scone, Homebush, Ku-ring-gai and the Sydney CBD.
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Senator Wong said Smart Grids could give Australian households and businesses the tools to reduce their energy use and energy bills into the future. "Smart grids are critical in the fight against climate change, as they have enormous potential to improve the efficiency of our electricity sector and transform the way we use energy in our homes and businesses," Senator Wong said. "Smart Grids give households the ability to manage their own energy use, as they give consumers information about how much energy they are using and the costs at any time.

"Consumers can also use Smart Grids with energy efficient smart appliances that can be set to run on off-peak power.

["If smart grid applications are adopted around Australia they could deliver a reduction of 3.5 megatonnes of carbon emissions per annum."]

Minister for Resources and Energy, Martin Ferguson, said the EnergyAustralia consortium would test smart grid technologies and ensure their suitability for Australian conditions.

"This demonstration project will provide information on the costs and benefits of smart grid technologies and applications that industry needs to make the right decisions in implementing this technology," Mr Ferguson said. "A smart grid can identify and resolve faults on the electricity grid, manage voltage and identify infrastructure that requires maintenance." Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Stephen Conroy, said the Smart Grid, Smart City initiative would also explore synergies between smart grid technologies and the National Broadband Network.

"This project is an important starting point as we move to ensure Australia gains maximum value from our broadband investments," Senator Conroy said. Minister Assisting the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, Greg Combet, and Newcastle MP Sharon Grierson said the project would give Newcastle households the ability to manage and better understand their own energy use. "Households in Newcastle will be able to access information about the amount of energy used at any time in their home and the cost," Mr Combet said.
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"This project will put Newcastle on the world stage when it comes to Smart Grid technologies." Senator Wong commended the efforts of the unsuccessful bidders for the Smart Grid project. "The quality of applications for this project was extremely high, with all bidders for the project putting considerable time and effort into their proposals," Senator Wong said. The EnergyAustralia consortium includes CSIRO, IBM Australia, AGL, GE Energy, TransGrid, Newcastle City Council and the NSW Government. Access date 23 September 2011

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