EVs can help power the grid

A Nissan Leaf in Vector’s Auckland office is discharging electricity into the transmission grid that powers Auckland

It’s called vehicle to grid (v to g) and Vector chief executive officer Simon Mackenzie reckons it will play a role in how the company’s electricity business works in the future, Newsroom reports. “Battery technology is the major development in the electricity sector and along with solar it will change everything,” Mackenzie says.

Vector became the first lines company in the Southern Hemisphere to put industrial-sized batteries into its grid. Ones installed in Auckland’s Glen Innes have reduced the amount of electricity it needs to supply that area in peak times by 15%.

The batteries charge during low demand – therefore lower cost periods – and then discharge into the system in peak periods like early evening.

Now it’s installing batteries in three Auckland new high growth areas – Hobsonville Point, Warkworth and Tamaki.
The infrastructure is being designed so power can flow both ways.

Soon more consumers will be selling power generated by solar panels or discharged from Tesla-manufactured batteries, Mackenzie says.
Control is a driver, with research showing that’s the main reason for the uptake, he says.
“People want to take control of their own power and they don’t want any surprises like disruption of supply or unexpected price rises. The second reason is their concern for the environment.”

As soon as EVs start to become the norm, Mackenzie predicts people will use the car’s battery to store power purchased at off-peak periods and to either use or sell it in peak periods.

The need to integrate multiple sources into its system and analyse supply and demand has led Vector into a major deal with Mprest – an Israeli hi-tech company.
The Israeli company’s chief operating officer Ron Helpen was in Auckland to confirm the roll-out of mDERMs, or distributed energy resource management systems.
“Our system allows Vector to look at the entire picture, it can detect if there is going to be an overload in a sector and instantly bring power in from batteries or EVs in that area or use demand response to switch off hot water systems and eventually things like air-conditioners, this way outages can be avoided and that’s money saved.”

Vector has formed a partnership with mPrest to sell systems to other energy companies in New Zealand and Australia.
“The is nothing else like it because it can connect to existing systems. We had it up and running in six weeks whereas our previous major system upgrade took 18 months,” Mackenzie says. “Eventually, the whole energy sector will have to move to it as large amounts of renewables come on-line.”

Vector is also preparing for changing customer behaviour.

It brought New York energy expert Rory Christian to New Zealand to brief its board on how technology will put more control in the hands of consumers.
“It won’t be long before there’s a product on our mobile phones that allows us to track electricity use across all our appliances. Smart coding will allow us to remotely dim our lights, turn down our air conditioners etc. We will know what is going on in every room of our house,” Christian says.

“We will have control of energy in our homes in ways we never thought possible. EVs, battery storage and Tesla roof top tiles will mean people can be able to take much more control over the amount they are spending on electricity.”