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Lester

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Powerhouse

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800 Messages

Trial starts tomorrow !

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Received an email just an hour or so ago, advising the trial commences tomorrow Wed 26th March.

So, anyone else here that has signed up and joined the group here ?

 

I have a few questions not yet able to clarify from the general info online or sent out in emails.

Would be happy to see others questions too.

 

> Do participants get a heads up when a curtailment is going to happen ?

It's not likely to be something that can be done with any sort of advanced notice, like a day or so, but is there anything even at start of a curtailment that can be expected ?

By SMS, or email, etc.

 

> Do participants get a report of curtailment on any time basis, once a day, week, month, etc ?

Would be good to know how many hours on such and such days have been curtailed, and how many KWH.

I figure we must get some sort of report to understand where we are in the 200hrs total earmarked for curtailment.

 

I am expecting curtailment to occur mostly during the finest summer / shoulder season production days, when the grid is loaded with too much PV power, and negative price triggers might reflect badly for retailers.

> Would this be right ?

 

Regards,

Les (Adelaide SA)

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CathyG

Switched-on

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2 Messages

I wasn't invited to join the trial and it seems AGL staff in the chat haven't heard anything about it, I'm assuming what you're talking about is the trial related to the export tariff? I thought all solar users were going to be charged the tariff from July 1 anyway, the trial ends June 30 doesn't it? There's no information at all on the AGL website. How do they limit what you feed in? Did you need any additional soft/hard ware? I was thinking about getting an export limiting device installed. I think you are right, it will mainly affect 10am - 4pm and mainly in summer, with the export allowance rolled over to the next day if you don't exceed it. Does the trial contain any information on how they will adjust your bill? I heard the plan was to reduce the cost of energy at peak times rather than give a feed in tariff. 

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Lester

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Powerhouse

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800 Messages

hi @CathyG and @Jaffas124 

 

Cathy, it's about the 3rd trial I think like this in the past couple of years.

Info on this trial is here . . . https://www.agl.com.au/residential/solar-and-batteries/solar-grid-saver 

 

AGL must know what sort of inverters solar owners use, and contact those with the one the trial is supported by, Solar Edge for this particular trial.

It could also be aimed at those that export a good amount of their production.

 

Are you are referring to the so called 'sun tax' Cathy ?

That has nothing to do with this trial, but . . .

Yes, that starts July 1st for those in the NEM system, and it's a thin edge of the wedge possibly.

Starting at 1.2c per kwh penalty for exports between 1000 and 1500, with a threshold of 6.8kwh, so over that it comes OFF your FIT.

 

Just checked, it might be just NSW and SA starting this penalty come July 1st this year.

https://solarcalculator.com.au/blog/sun-tax/ 

I can't see a date on this article, but you'll see proposed varying rates for FITs for some times, and rates for tax for small / larger PV in there, not sure if this is accurate.

All I've heard is the 1.2c, 1000-1500, with that threshold.

 

I worked out this will cost me around $57 over a usual summer, and more limited amounts for the other 9 months, yeah seemingly not a lot, but how long until FITs drop more, sun tax increases, etc etc . . . time will tell.

Yes, then if you want to avoid that if it gets intolerable, you will need to get a battery (most of which can have software to cease exports under settings) or something like Catch Power type of unit which can do the same thing.

 

Anyway, back to topic.

 

Jaffas, as above, it might be the Solar Edge inverter limit means many can't participate in this trial, but I'm sure other inverter brands will eventually be brought into trials or plan options.

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Jaffas124

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Conductor

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Have not heard anything about this trial!

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Pen_AGL

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AGL Employee

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41 Messages

Hi Les,

 

Thanks for your post in the group and for your interest in the trial! We're excited to have you on board.

 

Here are the answers to your questions:

 

  1. Do participants get a heads up when a curtailment is going to happen?
    • Unfortunately, we cannot provide advanced notice for curtailment events. However, please note that a curtailment event will not impact your ability to use your solar-generated electricity for self-consumption during this time.
  2. Do participants get a report of curtailment on any time basis, once a day, week, month, etc.?
    • Currently, we do not provide regular reports on curtailment events. However, please be assured that the total curtailment will not exceed 200 hours. We are exploring the possibility of introducing this feature from mid-2025.
  3. I am expecting curtailment to occur mostly during the finest summer/shoulder season production days, when the grid is loaded with too much PV power, and negative price triggers might reflect badly for retailers.
    • You're correct that curtailment is likely to occur during peak production times when the grid is most likely to be overloaded with PV power, and managing this excess is crucial for maintaining grid stability. However, since this is a trial, we might also test curtailment during other conditions to gather comprehensive data and ensure the system's reliability in various scenarios.

 

You can find more information about the trial online at https://www.agl.com.au/residential/solar-and-batteries/solar-grid-saver or feel free to share any other questions you might have, and we'll be happy to help!

 

Best regards,

Penelope from the AGL Team

 

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Lester

+21 more

Powerhouse

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800 Messages

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@Pen_AGL thanks for the info, and happy to be taking part.

It might help suppliers, retailers, and consumers by being able to shift power supply and demand to keep supply and pricing more stable.

 

Ok, I guess it's trust involved then, and will have to accept SAPN involvement will ensure it is limited to 200hrs.

 

I will see exports to grid on my software, but it might be hard to see hours, perhaps micro checks daily info I can see when excess production and exports are vastly differing, but I think it will be a manual thing to look at those charts and add up hours etc, makes it not that viable to do / know for sure.

It is what it is for now, and it would be reassuring for participants if something can be developed to show this on a rolling update basis.

 

It's good to know our production and normal self consumption will not be affected in any way, that was all clear from the start.

 

Thanks, hopefully we'll see more participants on here in the near future.

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Lester

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Powerhouse

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800 Messages

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Note - the links above from myself and Penelope for the Solar Grid Savers info goes to a page that might say not available in your area.

You need to click top right state drop down and tick South Australia, not sure what other states where this trial might be happening.

 

Our solar is 10-15kw, and the basic rebate for the trial is $250 (not including any bonus incentive).

The base rebate $250 comes in 4 payments of $62.50, on each of the quarterly bills after signing up.

Do I see that on my bill / app Billing transactions just before my next bill in 6 days ?

 

For March, I see just over - 21kwh (negative) difference in excess production to the grid, and what the AGL app shows as power sent to the grid, so possibly this was a test done after the commencement date somewhere in that 5 day window.

 

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Pen_AGL

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AGL Employee

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41 Messages

Hi Les,

 

Yes, you will see the credit on your next bill under "Solar grid saver service". If you are on quarterly billing the rebate of $250 is divided into four quarterly payments of $62.50 each. Regarding your upcoming bill in 6 days, you should see the first installment of $62.50 in the billing transactions section of your bill or app. 

 

Thanks,

Penelope

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Lester

+21 more

Powerhouse

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800 Messages

Thanks Penelope.

 

My first bill has just been issued since the sign up, and the Solar Grid Savers credit is shown internally within the bill.

I noticed this first rebate is done pro rata, so a portion of the $62.50 credit applied, which is fine, it'll work out in the end.

 

I'm fairly sure I have noticed a couple of very short test curtailments, and my first decent curtailment the other day, where we we capped at about 4.5kwh export for about 5 hours.

In that time, I would have normally have been exporting about 6.5kwh to 7kwh, so literally only 12.5kwh max @ 4c given up, around 50c of FIT.  

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