Utility Magazine February 2015

MAKING THE LIST: SYDNEY WATER’S APPROVED PROVIDERS PUTTING SAFETY FIRST

Comdain is a leading national infrastructure engineering and asset management services business specialising in the Water, Gas and Irrigation sectors.

6 Program & project planning, management and consultation.

6 Design - Concept and detailed.

6 Construction - Pipelines, pump stations, treatment plants, facilities, metering and storages.

6 Operations & Maintenance - Civil, mechanical and electrical.

6 Control & Monitor - SCADA and telemetry.

SURESEARCH LEADERS IN UNDERGROUND UTILITY LOCATION

PROTECTING YOUR SITE IS OUR MAIN PRIORITY

WE USE THE LATEST IN VACUUM EXCAVATION, CCTV AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

1300 88 45 20

www.suresearch.com.au

The new year is here, and at Utility magazine we’ve marked our first big milestone – our magazine has turned one! It’s been a great year, and one of rapid growth for the magazine, due to the wonderful support we’ve received from the water, gas, electricity, sewer and telecommunications industries. So, as we reflect on our first year of publishing, to our readers and advertisers, I send you all a heartfelt thank you.

Another milestone we’ve achieved is an increase in our audited circulation.

Utility now has an independently audited print circulation of 5,766 – an increase of over 12 per cent on our previously audited circulation. This is an exceptional result, at a time when many other magazines in similar industries have sadly seen their circulation figures continue to decline.

Print is only the first part of the story; Utility has also been a digital success with the website traffic continuing to grow. Our email newsletter has now gone weekly and continues to get about 20 new subscribers every week. The magazine has also been active on social media such as Twitter and LinkedIn, and has found a new audience through those channels as well.

Our plans for 2015 are to continue to grow the print and online editions of the magazine, and bring you more in-depth coverage and analysis of the issues facing the utility industries – watch this space.

The year ahead is also shaping up to be a big one for anyone working in energy, water and telecommunications.

Policy and regulatory debate in the energy sector has been ongoing and ruthless during 2014, and with elections coming up in two eastern states and the imminent release of the Energy White Paper, the year ahead will be just as busy.

Ongoing challenges and opportunities associated with grid integration, and new technologies such as battery storage, will continue to provide key focus areas for the energy sector.

Investigating the opportunities presented by smart metering technologies, and successfully deploying meters to customers, will provide a focus for the water industry. Utilities are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits these technologies offer in efficiency, demand management and customer service. The challenge will lie in communicating these benefits to consumers and transferring the recognition of new technology into solid business cases.

The rollout of the NBN continues at pace, and with the release of NBN Co’s Multi-Technology Deployment Principles, we have greater certainty regarding which technology will be used in areas around the country.

Contract Management Solutions for Utilities

Contracts repository

Strategic sourcing

Contractor management

Business process workflow

Capital program management

Payment management

The preferred choice for many of Australia’s utilities companies, extract more value out of your agreements while reducing risk and increasing compliance. A comprehensive suite of contract and contractor management modules in Open Windows CONTRACTS ensure that the contracts being signed are the contracts being delivered.

Modules include tender management, KPI management, payment and variation management, insurance management, risk determination and mitigation, as well as program management tools and external CONTRACTS Portal. Open Windows CONTRACTS can be integrated with your ERP, document management and financial management systems.

ERGON TO UTILISE BATTERY SUPPORT SYSTEMS

In an Australian first, Ergon Energy will install new battery-based technology called Grid Utility Support Systems (GUSS) to help power sections of its electricity network by mid-2015.

A tender to provide 20 of the groundbreaking GUSS units has been awarded to S&C Electric Company.

GUSS works by charging batteries overnight, when electricity use is at its lowest, and discharging them during the day if required when energy use peaks.

Designed, developed and proven by Ergon from an initial concept in 2006, the GUSS units are an advanced, cost effective technology solution that will improve the quality and reliability of electricity supply to rural customers on constrained single-wire high-voltage

distribution voltage lines, known as SWER (Single Wire Earth Return).

The units utilise a total of 50 lithiumion type batteries and were developed by a team of Ergon engineers. Trials of the system since 2011 have proven the concept on Ergon’s SWER network.

In a further bonus for other new technologies, GUSS units will also help Ergon’s network interact with customer solar PV installations more effectively, and help avoid costly issues sometimes created by exported power from rooftop solar.

Ergon predicts it could be deploying several hundred GUSS units across its SWER network in coming years.

PROBING INTO SEWER SERVICES

Yarra Valley Water is using probes as part of an innovative new trial as part of the Park Orchards Sewerage Project in Victoria.

Water quality monitoring probes will gather data periodically for the next four years inside a trial area of 100 properties, including Park Orchards Primary School and the main local shops.

According to David Diaz, Project Manager, the probes will help monitor the health of the local environment, to assess whether containing all treated sewage from septic tanks on each property is an environmentally sound sewerage solution.

AER RELEASES DRAFT REVENUE DETERMINATIONS

The Australian Energy Regulator has released draft revenue determinations for electricity and gas distributors in NSW, the ACT and Tasmania.

The draft determinations are preliminary steps to allow the network businesses and the community to make further submissions to the AER before a final regulatory determination is made by 1 May 2015.

The draft determinations for the NSW electricity distributors Ausgrid, Endeavour Energy, and Essential Energy, cover the five-year period through to June 2019.

The AER has proposed retrospectively reducing revenue allowances by $6.5 billion, or 27 per cent, over the five-year period to 2019 based on reduced cost of capital, reduced operating expenditure, and a real reduction of more than 60 per cent in the capital investment program compared to the previous five years.

The AER also proposes lower revenue allowances for Jemena Gas Networks for the period 2015-20, ActewAGL for the period 2015-19, TransGrid for the period 2015-18 and Directlink for the

period 2015-20.

The transmission revenue proposal by TasNetworks for the 2014-19 regulatory period was largely accepted.

Energy Networks Association Chief Executive Officer John Bradley welcomed the acceptance of TasNetworks’ proposal, but questioned the large cuts to ACT and NSW: “Customers have been fed up with electricity price increases and do expect to see network costs falling, but we also need to avoid impacts on other customer priorities.

“In NSW and ACT, the AER would cut distribution operating expenditure to a level not seen in ten to 13 years –it seems implausible that this can be achieved without customer impacts.

“If implemented, these funding cuts put at risk key consumer outcomes relating to safety, maintenance and outage response times.”

The ENA intends to consult with the AER to promote “more balanced final decisions that are in the long-term interests of electricity consumers”.

“The findings from this trial project will be of huge significance in understanding how water can be reused within a community. All rural areas in Victoria and Australia will be watching this project with interest. The local community participation rate is currently 96 per cent from trial residents, and we are very grateful to the residents who have agreed to take part in what could be a truly groundbreaking trial,” said Mr Diaz.

“We will monitor the local environment before, during and after upgrades to septic tanks are completed. Monitoring will involve collecting information about septic discharge quality, local stormwater quality, local weather, and groundwater conditions. We will liaise with EPA Victoria, the Department of Primary Industries, Manningham City Council, and the Department of Health to ensure their requirements are met,” said Mr Diaz.

For over 15 years the GT FMC platform has supported Australian utility businesses in managing field-based activities.

The FMC Vegetation Management Solution (VMS) manages the full lifecycle of vegetation management from assessment to cutting, through to auditing of completed work.

Through advanced analytics, VMS gives visibility on progress, performance and quality of a contractor workforce, while providing trending data for better cost control and more accurate forecasting.

> Fast, accurate regulatory reporting

> Flexibility in resource selection

> Better cost controls and forecasting

> Access to all vegetation management data

> Near real time visibility of field activities

> Secure, team-based access to data.

Visit our website to find out more about our work with Australian utilities.

BG GROUP SELLS QCLNG PIPELINE

BG Group will sell its wholly-owned subsidiary QCLNG Pipeline to APA Group for approximately US$5 billion.

QCLNG Pipeline owns the 543km large-diameter underground pipeline network linking BG Group’s natural gas fields in southern Queensland to a two-train liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility at Gladstone on Australia’s east coast.

The sale is conditional on the start of commercial LNG deliveries from the QCLNG export facility at Gladstone and on partner consent. BG Group and its partners have firm capacity rights in the pipeline for 20 years, with options to extend.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2015. BG Group states that the post-tax profit of approximately US$2.7 billion will be used to reduce net debt and to fund future growth investment.

WELCOME NEWS FOR GAS INDUSTRY BODIES

Australia’s gas industry looks set for further growth with a number of significant developments in 2014.

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Energy Council has dismissed the idea of a possible gas reservation policy or national interest test.

Gas industry body APPEA welcomed this decision saying it is “clear recognition such calls present no viable way to securing gas supply and putting downward pressure on gas prices”.

The NSW Government also released the NSW Gas Plan, its strategy to secure the state’s gas supplies through the development of the coal seam gas industry.

The plan is based on the recommendations of the NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer, Professor Mary O’Kane, in the ‘Final Report of the Independent Review of Coal Seam Gas Activities in NSW’.

This report represents 19 months of work reviewing the coal seam gas industry. The final conclusion of this work is that the risks of gas development can be effectively managed with the right regulation,

nbn

UNIVERSAL SIGNS NBN CONTRACT

NBN Co has signed a new service agreement with Australian company Universal Communications Group Limited (UCG) to connect singledwelling units to the NBN fibre network in Tasmania, New South Wales and the ACT.

These connections will be performed as ‘bulk drops’, a process which entails connecting the fibre optic cables that have already been installed in the street to the wall of the premise.

UCG has been connecting multidwelling units to the NBN directly for NBN Co since 2012. The contract further cements UCG’s relationship with the Australian NBN Co.

engineering solutions, and ongoing monitoring and research.

Gas industry bodies have welcomed the plan. Chief Executive of the Australian Pipeline Industry Association Cheryl Cartwright said industry had warned for some time of a domestic gas shortage or price hike in eastern Australia.

“The only solution to such a gas shortage is to increase supply,” said Ms Cartwright.

Likewise, APPEA stated that “Australia’s oil and gas industry welcomes the NSW Government’s recognition that the state is facing an avoidable energy security problem and that policy must change to encourage supply. The current situation – which sees NSW import 95% of its gas, even though it possesses 500 years’ worth of supply – should be viewed as unacceptable by the state’s 1.3 million gas consumers.”

The organisation also suggests a number of clarifications to the current plan, involving gas exploration, farmer compensation, exclusion zones and gas reservation.

water

WIOA AND UTILITY TEAM UP

WIOA, the Water Industry Operators Association, has joined forces with Utility magazine in a partnership that will see Utility take the role as the official magazine of WIOA’s three major trade shows in 2015.

The partnership will benefit WIOA members who can access special rates as well as a free subscription to the magazine, and will see Utility reaching a wider audience than ever before.

Since its launch in 2014, Utility magazine has quickly become the leading voice for the utility industry with an audited circulation now exceeding 5,700. Utility has become known for its quality and in-depth coverage of the industry, and this partnership will allow even more

exploration of key issues in water operations and maintenance.

Monkey Media Publisher Chris Bland said, “We have always admired the level of engagement that WIOA members have had with their association, and the professionalism of their events, so we are very excited about working more closely with them.”

WIOA CEO George Wall said, “WIOA is excited by the opportunities partnering with Utility magazine will provide for our members and delegates. Utility’s growth in circulation and acceptance across its target markets is impressive, and we look forward to raising an awareness of events and other services we offer to members in the water and allied industries.”

Featuring a 26% increase in carriage speed, a 37% increase in ground drive speed, and a narrow profile to get to the most confined job sites, the Series 3 D9x13 Navigator helps you fit more metres into to the working day.

Combined with extendable track width for side-hill stability, a durable one-piece hinged hood, and Vermeer’s legendary build quality and unmatched local dealer support, you’ve got the ideal partner for today’s fibre installation environment.

A WORD FROM THE ENA

In the first edition of Utility I wrote that 2014 promised to be a busy year for those interested in the energy supply chain. As expected –a year is a long time in the energy industry.

Since last year Australia has added the equivalent of a large power station – 590MW – in distributed solar generation capacity.

AEMO has released the 2014 National Electricity Forecast, which saw the range of uncertainty for energy consumption in 2020 double compared to the previous year. That is, the gap between high and low scenarios of energy consumption in 2020 – one regulatory period away – increased 20,000MW to 40,000MW.

We have also seen extreme and unusual temperatures early in 2014 in south-eastern Australia’s heatwave and high temperatures in Queensland during the G20. The January 2014 heatwave demonstrated the benefits of the smart grid and smarter price structures, as well as the integration of residential solar and Australia’s domestic gas networks to support system performance. It also highlighted the work of quiet heroes in network businesses who maintain a focus on operational excellence in such a challenging technological, regulatory and commercial environment.

During this time the pace of policy and regulatory debate has been relentless in a networks sector that is responsible for the delivery of essential services to the community. We’ve also witnessed the consolidation of key changes to the regulatory framework, the emergence of significant changes to structure and ownership, and new analysis of the future of the energy industry.

There is every indication that the year ahead will be just as busy.

We have elections coming up in two eastern states which will have significant implications for the networks sector.

There are also critical decisions for

Ministers to make on tariff reform and metering through the COAG Energy Council.

The Energy White Paper will be released early in 2015 – an opportunity to provide an important framework for the direction of energy policy in Australia.

While this takes place, the pace of change and transformation of the energy system continues.

Australian networks are integrating rooftop solar panels at world-leading rates of penetration – induced by subsidies which are now anachronistic and harmful to general consumers. At the same time, there are other technologies travelling quickly down the cost curve – including battery storage, electric vehicles and energy management systems, which could either provide significant improvements or significant risks to the economic outcomes for Australian consumers and the safety, reliability and quality of our supply. Behind them on the horizon is the potential for fuel cells and microwind turbines.

These are important, and welcome, advances in technology that can strengthen the grid, and the network sector has been actively supporting the deployment of these breakthrough technologies.

However, this transformation also suggests that it is worth taking a closer look at the true value of the grid.

In November ENA released an important piece of analysis conducted by Oakley Greenwood. The study quantifies the often ‘hidden’ services that customers receive from the grid, and how much it would cost a customer to supply them. The evidence is that the electricity grid provides significant value to consumers today and in the long-term.

While recent advances in solar and storage technology mean customers could choose to leave the grid entirely, the independent analysis by Oakley Greenwood shows it is unlikely to

deliver better financial outcomes or better services.

If your family or your business is after an equivalent, safe, reliable and hassle-free service as today, this research shows that, to provide a nearly equivalent service, a stand alone power system would cost $600 to $850 per month or five to six times the cost of grid supply.

A do-it-yourself solution is unlikely to be the best outcome – over the course of a year, the connected customer is up to $8,700 better off than they would be with a stand-alone power system providing a nearly equivalent service.

A disconnected customer would also lose grid benefits like the ability to sell surplus energy or participate in new markets which may emerge using distributed energy resources – such as demand response markets or balancing services.

The grid will be the gateway for better, more efficient energy services – so quitting the grid is like having a home computer but disconnecting it from the internet. You still have one, but you are not connected to the services that connection provides you and the broader community.

As energy consumers engage in decisions on energy use in new ways, it is clear that the preferences of consumers will shape the development of future networks, by requiring network businesses to rethink their approach to price, reliability, technology and energy sources.

It is important that as this takes place, customers are well informed as to the costs and benefits of their choices. Energy networks are well placed to efficiently integrate new technologies and services with the grid, supporting consumer choice, and delivering a resilient and sustainable energy system.

EMBRACING THE BENEFITS OF SMART METERS

An online survey and in−depth interviews conducted with urban water businesses in Australia and New Zealand has shown 80 per cent of respondents are actively pursuing smart metering or intelligent water networks.

Momentum for these projects continues to grow, as businesses pursue pilot and operational projects.

It is clear that urban water businesses are recognising the role digital water-metering technology can play in efficiency, demand management and customer service.

In line with the vision set by WSAA members, ‘customer driven, enriching life’, it is also important that the end user –the customer – understands the benefit of the technology.

The research shows that many utilities are now seeing how digital metering and use of near real-time data can benefit customer service.

The survey, conducted by the Smart Water Research Centre on behalf of WSAA, provides a deeper understanding of the state of smart metering and intelligent water networks (SM/IWN) in Australian and New Zealand urban water utilities. Building on the baseline data gathered in 2013, this study looked at gauging the penetration of smart metering and intelligent water network projects to identify challenges and emerging trends. Key insights were:

Smart meter and intelligent water projects continue to grow 80 per cent of respondents were actively pursuing smart metering or intelligent water network projects, with 66 per cent having projects underway or starting in the next 12 months, demonstrating that the momentum for SM/IWN projects in Australasia continues to grow.

Extending asset life and deferring investment is the key business case driver

Improving infrastructure planning and deferring infrastructure augmentation by extending the life of assets through better peak demand management was the single most frequently cited business case driver for the deployment of smart metering technology.

Improved accuracy in meter reading the ‘surprise’ benefit

For the utilities who had progressed to operational rollout, the theoretical business case benefit that was being met or exceeded most often in practice was improved meter reading accuracy.

Uncertainty around communications selection

Many utilities are trialling a number of communication systems, suggesting this important choice is seen as having a level of uncertainty. Two-way communications are emerging as the most popular (51 per cent).

Smart meters a growing component of intelligent water networks

In the last 12 months there has been a doubling in the number of utilities that are pursuing IWN – integrating of intelligent devices including water meters, pressure sensors, meter data, into all relevant business processes and systems and using this information to guide strategy and investment.

Digital water knowledge systems: for customer choice and utility efficiency

There was an evolution by many utilities in conceptualising the utility-wide application and benefits that can be achieved from pursuing digital metering technology. There is evidence that utilities in 2014 have an increased awareness of how digital metering and applying analytics of various datasets in near real-time can benefit utility efficiency and customer service excellence. Aligned with data analytics was a clear shift towards the customer satisfaction (e.g. greater focus on web portals, leak alerts, two-way communications and customer consultation).

A need for better integration with communication systems and the IWN concept

There was consistent mention of technological difficulties concerning incompatibilities with the meter, data storage and communication systems. This area may be surpassed by the emerging ‘internet of things’ protocols, and highlights a need for deeper vendor and utility discussions.

Customer needs usually not valued in the business case

Of the utilities operating smart meters, the most successful business case benefit being achieved, or on track to being achieved, was “customer engagement and timely signals to customers, e.g. leaks”. This insight is typically gained after installation and often doesn’t form a tangible input into the business case. It highlights a disconnect

between the business case logic, where customer benefits prove elusive to include and value financially.

Two-paced momentum and knowledge in industry

Some utilities had well-advanced trials or operational rollouts, together with a similarly advanced understanding of the wider benefits of SM and IWN, while others were constrained by a lack of overall understanding and awareness of developing a business case, technology options, applications of data and the wider benefits of smart metering.

Theoretical business case benefits being achieved operationally

Water businesses that are rolling out large-scale smart metering projects, and that were interviewed in depth last year (e.g. Mackay Regional Council and TasWater), remained largely on track with their business case driver outcomes and reported ongoing water demand reductions (e.g. greater than 10 per cent reduction in residential demand), long-term CAPEX savings (e.g. deferring augmentation of networks and associated capital expenditure net present value savings) and excellent customer service improvements (e.g. significant reductions in customer complaints).

The survey shows that while the number of utilities that are pursuing intelligent water networks has doubled in the

UTILITIES ARE ACTIVELY PURSUING SMART METERING TECHNOLOGIES. IMAGE: SOUTH EAST WATER.

last 12 months, challenges still exist in transferring the recognition of the new technology into solid businesses cases. WSAA will continue to work with the urban water industry in understanding the challenges for the implementation of intelligent water networks and smart metering.

Making theMost of

United Energy and Multinet Gas are among an increasing number of utilities making the most of big data to manage their electricity and gas assets. This ongoing process aims to utilise an everincreasing amount of data to create smarter, more responsive and better managed networks, and to improve capital planning, business operations and customer service. Utility spoke to Andrew Steer, Network Control Centre Support Manager at United Energy, to learn more about how the organisation collects and manages data.

G DATA

The Multinet Gas network covers 1,860 square km of the eastern and southeastern suburbs of Melbourne, the Yarra Ranges and South Gippsland, while United Energy’s electricity distribution network covers 1,472 square km of south-east Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula.

Data is collected across these networks at various points via a number of different technologies.

“Traditional SCADA technology provides extensive monitoring and control at the major asset level for both gas and electricity networks, and smart metering has been deployed to over 97 per cent of supply points in the electricity network. Limited monitoring is also deployed at the intermediate level between the highvoltage (HV) assets and the consumer,” said Andrew Steer.

“The traditional SCADA network uses a mix of intelligent end devices built into the network. The bulk of data capture is via devices at the HV zone substations. These monitor both analog data (such as network load, voltages, current flows, device temperature etc.) as well as digital state information (for instance, whether a device is on or off, or which switched state it is in). This data capture occurs via

standard IP networks. The gas and electricity distribution networks also capture data from switchgear on pole tops or various gas distribution network locations via wireless techniques such as 3G and digital radio technologies. The smart metering network is meshradio based.”

All in all, this amounts to a large amount of data. While United Energy and Multinet Gas’s traditional SCADA networks capture a relatively small amount of data (around six gigabytes annually), the smart metering network takes readings every 30 minutes and captures considerably more data, approximately 2.5 terabytes annually.

MANAGING DATA TO MANAGE ASSETS

In order to realise its potential benefits, utilities must be able to analyse all this data or use both in realtime and to observe longer term trends. Mr Steer said that the way the data is used by United Energy and Multinet Gas determines how it is managed.

“The utilisation of data drives how it is managed within the organisation. A common assumption is that data is simply stored and analysed ‘after the fact’ in big data processing applications, or that it is simply used for management reporting. While this is true in some cases, significant amounts

of data within electricity and gas utilities are utilised for real-time processing and near real-time decision making.

“Our traditional SCADA networks have operated in real-time for more than 25 years, as a key element in network control. The SCADA applications and their associated data historians generate operational data views. These allow network management applications and control room users to make rapid network switching and load management decisions to maintain the supply of energy to customers and the integrity of the networks. This data processing is localised at the application level and leverages geospatial network data as the underlying reference model. The management of this reference model requires the use of quality change processes,” Mr Steer said.

The completion of the smart meter rollout in Victoria has allowed data to be used in new and innovative ways and enabled an increased focus on real-time network control.

“With the advent of smart meters in Victoria, the initial focus was to meet the collection, processing and data delivery market standards. Once again, the initial focus of the organisation was operational in nature, with the major focus being on the meter data management application as the data processing engine. Subsequently, the

business leveraged the energy data available for the traditional network planning and analysis via a more central data store that combined the strengths of the SCADA data overlaid with the smart meter data – providing the basis for improved network planning and capital investment analysis.

“However, with the effective completion of the smart meter rollout in 2013/14, the business has focused its attention on leveraging data in near realtime for network control and operations – merging the available smart meter event data and SCADA network data into the network management applications, with a focus on improved decision making, more effective operations, and improved customer service. This journey is a work in progress within at the present time. Looking ahead, real-time decision making in smart networks will evolve towards increased ‘in-networks’ processing – altering the balance and processing requirements between what data and analytics processing is required in the central office, the control room and within the zone substation infrastructure.”

Getting the maximum value from big data is an ongoing process and its potential is by no means exhausted. Therefore, United Energy and Multinet Gas continues to develop its data management strategies.

“This task will be ongoing. Much of the real-time processing activity is centred on core in-network and network management applications with the ongoing evolution and inclusion of incremental analytics capabilities. The ongoing extraction of value from the accumulated data will require a key investment in traditional analytics by UE/MG in the next few years. In the interim UE/MG is focused on exploring the potential of the data to solve both traditional problems in new and novel ways as well as examining opportunities to meet emerging challenges via the use of data analytics. Of course the energy industry isn’t static, with new sector innovations a fact of everyday life, so UE/MG will continue with local sandpit analytics and its investment in big data engines as required.”

Mr Steer said that an integrated approach, where the employees analysing the data work closely with the business team, has been key to UE/MG’s successful data management

strategy. Working closely with the vendors who provide the data management solutions is also important to get the most out of data.

“The UE/MG approach is to keep the data analysts close to the business and the emerging business opportunities, so they are working closely with the business teams identifying the opportunities. The industry solution vendor partners play their part by incorporating the necessary capabilities into their core solutions, and UE/MG proactively works with the vendor partners in this respect. In this way, the analysts continue to be placed at the forefront of problem-solving and are focused on exploring and proving out opportunities for subsequent business and vendor solution consolidation.”

THE BENEFITS OF BIG DATA

The data collected and analysed by UE/MG is used in a variety of different ways, and at different stages, to improve the network.

“The obvious use of data in the traditional sense is for improved network planning. Whilst this benefit is less obvious to customers, it allows UE/MG to better target its use of capital investment to localised network trouble spots or to defer mainstream investment – ultimately keeping a lid on price increases.”

The data is also used to improve the organisation’s understanding of load across the network and for use in demand management.

“The combination of SCADA data with smart meter data overlaid on the geospatial network reference model provides substantial improvements in understanding load across the network. Last summer this was extended for use in operational network load management – where UE had visibility on consecutive 40+ degree days of network stress points and was able to better distribute customer load across our network to maintain supply. It also allowed us to

work with our customers to minimise risks of network overload conditions.

“The smart metering voltage excursion data has been utilised to remediate areas of the network with power quality issues. Whilst increased penetration of solar impacts our ability to remediate in certain locations, the capability to analyse and display this data with visualisation tools has led to several programs of work to alter transformer tap settings, identify and repair network equipment causing impedance issues, insert voltage regulators in specific localities and identify some premises with neutral integrity (safety) issues.”

United Energy and Multinet Gas has also taken the opportunity to use enhancements in data to enable customers to become more aware of and involved in their own energy use.

“One of the first UE/MG initiatives with the advent of smart metering was to provide a simple to use EnergyEasy web portal to allow our network customers to view their energy use data.

“Numerous customers have told us that they’ve viewed their half-hourly data profiles and identified energy or appliance issues in the home and reduced their energy usage as a result. A common example is a customer seeing how much power is consumed with appliances on standby. This is most evident when a customer takes a weekend break from home but their household continues to consume significant quantities of power. Another example is the obvious step-change in energy consumption when cooling and heating appliances are in use – often pinpointing issues such as broken ducted systems or the budget impact of running multiple air-conditioning units in the home.

“UE also has a summer demand trial in progress in the Bulleen–Lower Templestowe area. This promotes the idea that customers can actively and voluntarily reduce their energy use at peak times to support the essential appliances in the home. The pilot was effective in its first summer and is proposed to operate for several more summers. It utilises the customer’s

smart meter data so that the customer standard hot day consumption can be profiled against their peak time reduction behaviour to identify the extent of energy savings achieved. In many cases the customers achieved 60 per cent reductions in their energy use, and in some cases significantly higher savings.”

The data is also used to improve the reliability of the network by identifying issues and resolving them more quickly and effectively.

“Last summer United Energy used smart meter data to resolve several instances of phase imbalance in the LV network. The customer typically sees phase imbalance where some houses in their street lose power while others don’t. This occurs when the combined power consumption of all premises on one phase is excessive to the extent of phase-overload, causing the fuse to trip off. In these instances, UE was able to transfer selected premises to more lightly loaded phases, thus maintaining supply during subsequent hot days.

“The recent focus of UE has been on real-time use of smart meter capability for the management of power outages. Customers intuitively ring the outage call centre number when their supply fails. However, approximately 60 per cent of these instances relate to issues at the customer’s premise causing the circuit breaker to trip. The smart meter enables us to identify most power supply outages, and United Energy is currently working on analytics and applications that utilise this to quickly and automatically identify LV outages. This allows us to advise customers who call the outage call centre whether the issue is at the premises or in our network,” Mr Steer said.

THE FUTURE OF BIG DATA IN ASSET MANAGEMENT

United Energy and Multinet Gas strongly believe in the need to continue innovating and exploring the potential of big data. According to Mr Steer, future innovations will allow for an even more responsive and adaptable network, building upon the improvements already made as well as providing many further benefits to utilities and their customers.

“The examples above indicate how

we are improving the network and service to the customer. Many of these capabilities are broadly deployed at this stage and focused on wider network benefits, with some extending down to analytics at the locality-level (e.g. power quality). With some software improvements within the smart metering network and some new capabilities emerging in new network equipment, we see the potential for a greater individual customer focus, and focus at the LV circuit level.

“In combination with emerging localised energy solutions (battery storage, etc.) and the results from our Summer Demand Trial, we see the potential for a much greater range of both network and analytics capabilities to maintain the customer’s supply and manage a sustainable level of network investment, and we are actively driving towards this model.”

Various new technologies are already in the pipeline to take network data and control to the next level.

“A feature known as cognitive metering is being discussed within the retail sector that would capture energy data every 20 to 30 seconds. This effectively allows the capture of the appliance energy footprint within the home, so that the consumer can be in complete control of their energy use and identify the efficiency of their appliances. This is a significant data increase from the current data capture every 30 minutes,” said Mr Steer.

“We continue to consolidate the utilisation of data in both planning and real-time decision making as a core activity within our business. To manage the emerging complex energy networks, where the customer is key in localised energy generation and step-change energy reduction opportunities, in combination with networks supporting two-way energy flows, requires greater use of data in real-time to inform control room decisions during heat wave conditions, storm conditions, planned works and outages. This is a key use of big data as it relates to the network and it requires greater information sharing with the customers who seek to actively participate in those decisions.”

Will your plant and operations survive a cyber attack?

E ver ywhere it ma t ters , we de liver

RISK MANAGEMENT

Discover and remediate security gaps in your critical systems before an attack occurs

OPERATIONAL RESILIENCE

Strengthen organisational security and resilience so you can maintain availability

PROTECT REPUTATION

Protect your organisation’s reputation and compliance by managing your security risks

PLAN FOR THE FUTURE

Get actionable intelligence on the state of your organisation’s security so you can plan for the future

Will your plant and operations survive a cyber-attack?

With the cost of cybercrime now exceeding AUD 2 billion and affecting over 50% of Australian organisations, traditional IT defences will not protect your operations from a cyber-attack. Avoid becoming part of the statistic. Thales’s vulnerability assessment service is helping utility providers understand the real risk of cyber-attack and how to position themselves to handle the added security challenges of merging operational and information technology environments. Supported by over 40 years experience, Thales delivers cyber security solutions used by 90% of the world’s largest global banks to give you a solution the world already trusts. With security in our DNA, Thales products, services and solutions provide you with the information, services, equipment and control needed to understand the threats your business faces so that we can commit to delivering the results you need, whatever it takes. Call us. Get started 1800 ALL CYBER or by email cybersecurity@thalesgroup.com.au

COST- EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS

Practical, cost-effective treatment of cyber threats benchmarked against your industry

BUSINESS CONTINUITY

Identify single points of failure to ensure your business continuity

THE VALUE OF BIG DATA FOR UTILITIES

Much has been made of the original three Vs of big data: volume, velocity and variety. Many have sought to add a fourth V that suits their own perspective on big data, with one of the strongest contenders being ‘value’.

Utilities are dealing with an unprecedented surge of data – from smart meters, modern network devices and retrofit sensors to multi-channel customer interactions and even social media in an endless stream of data of all types, shapes and sizes. According to a survey conducted by data analysts Teradata of more than 2,000 IT and operational professionals working in utilities, this surge in data has created several roadblocks including:

• Too much volume for IT departments to keep up with

• Time constraints that increase difficulty for business analysts

• Lack of skilled resources to extract insights from the data

• Limited processing capabilities.

According to the survey respondents, compounding these difficulties are bottlenecks caused by integration, complexity and performance. This has hindered utilities in putting their data to work. But it shouldn’t.

OVERCOMING ROADBLOCKS TO FIND THE VALUE IN DATA

Utilities must gain return on investment from their data. Simply storing it is not enough. To find the value in their data, utilities must address the roadblocks discussed above to make their data useful.

In other words, to separate the signal from the noise, utilities must be able to extract meaningful new insights from their data – both from the many new

sources, and those they are already used to working with. From these insights, the best businesses take immediate action so that outcomes critical to operations, planning, financial management, and of course, customers, are changed for the better.

A utility’s data becomes enormously valuable when it can be used to:

• Target network investment based on granular and supportable data from multiple sources

• Respond intelligently to variations in supply and demand because near real-time loads can be more accurately measured and predicted

• Recognise fraud due to the identification of patterns in a geographical area, segmented group of consumers or specific meter

• Automatically reroute network paths based on the prediction and early identification of failures

• Identify the most valuable customers

• Manage return on investment of marketing and communications spend.

Even better, the value of analytics can be claimed by both IT and the business. IT benefits include a flexible,

scalable and robust data architecture that enables greater agility to gain greater depth of insight across many departments and many use cases. For the business, this is reflected in the capability to perform interactive analysis to extract insights that point to real actions that can be taken to achieve business objectives.

This might be in the form of new apps for a specific purpose, such as early identification of future network failures or for fraud detection; or new interactive reports for the CFO and the financial team on unit costing or operational efficiency; or user access to data discovery analytics previously only available to those hard-to-find data scientists.

Today, it’s simply not enough to focus only on the three Vs that may be top of mind as utilities grapple with the changes introduced by smart meters, network sensors, multi-channel customer interactions and the need to store, manage and integrate more and more data into the enterprise. Getting to the fourth V, value, requires analytics based on a single, centralised view of data – accessible to many, and for many use cases. This strategic approach is the secret to enabling your utility to gain business advantages from big data.

ANALYTIC DATA PLATFORMS

 Workload Specific Platforms

 Data Warehouse Software

 Tools & Utilities

 Discovery Platform

 Hadoop

BUSINESS APPLICATIONS

 Teradata Integrated Marketing Cloud

 Analytic applications SERVICES

 Business consulting services

 Technology and implementation services

 Customer support services

 Marketing Services

What would you do if you knew?™

www.teradata.com.au

EMBEDDING OPPORTUNITIES IN NETWORKS

With the increase in retail and commercial vacancy rates around Australia, owners of multi-tenanted buildings have looked to energy on-selling as a means of filling the revenue gaps in their rent budgets and providing lower cost energy for their tenants. As a result, there has been unprecedented growth in the embedded network sector along the east coast of Australia in the past few years.

EMBEDDED NETWORKS: HOW THEY WORK

The supply of electricity can be broken into three main components:

• Raw energy costs, or contract rates, as negotiated with a licensed retailer. This cost usually accounts for 45 per cent

Network costs make up about 45 per cent of the total charges. These costs are levied by local network service providers (distributors) but charged by the retailer as a pass-through cost.

Market and renewable charges

account for about 10 per cent of the bill, and cover both state and federal government levies that pertain to the regulated supply of electricity.

The above three components apply regardless of what type energy user

Large energy users tend to pay a lower average cost for electricity than small users do. This is predominately due to the lower cost regulated network charges which apply, and the fact that large users can more readily negotiate raw energy rates for supply.

NETWORK

An embedded network can be created where a building containing a number of tenants is fed through a single supply point such as a main switch board (MSB). A parent meter is installed between the incoming supply and the MSB to record the total electricity supply to the building. The site owner then purchases electricity at the parent meter, as a large market user, and on-sells this energy to tenants at small market rates.

The local network service provider legally only manages electricity supply to the lot boundary of a site. The MSB and all electrical infrastructure downstream of it remain the responsibility of the site owner. Hence supply interruptions and other electrical risks at site do not change whether the site is operating as an embedded network or not. As such, there are no additional liabilities in managing an embedded network that do not already exist at site.

In addition to the changes made to the MSB, changes to tenant and common area metering are also required. Those tenants that choose to purchase supply from the landlord will have a private meter installed to record their usage. Common area metering can also be replaced with private metering. This provides greater control over the ability to shut down power without the need for permission of the local supply authority. Tenants who purchase from their own retailer will continue to be supplied by a meter owned and managed by the network service provider or their retailer.

One of the key advantages of operating an embedded network is that building owners have greater control of tenant electricity supply. For those tenants who are purchasing supply from the landlord, tenant supply can be changed (upgraded say) without the need to involve the local supply authority. This saves both time and cost. The same

Be the energy champion

principle applies to the common areas. Further advantages include the ability to easily monitor tenant electricity usage, which proves handy when it comes to site energy audits.

LEGISLATION

The Ministerial Council on Energy implemented a National Energy Customer Framework (NECF) on 1 July 2012. The NECF is intended to harmonise the rules that apply to sellers of electricity and gas across all eastern seaboard states. Under the NECF, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) becomes responsible for administrating and managing both retail and network licence exemptions that are required by embedded network owners.

Tasmania and the ACT adopted the NECF (and consequently fall under the AER guidelines pertaining to embedded networks) in July 2012. South Australia introduced the NECF in February 2013 and New South Wales in July 2013.

The cost of energy has been rising rapidly over the last few years, and many property owners are wisely investing in energy efficiency measures to mitigate these costs. But what more can be done to control the impact of rising prices?

Energy Intelligence is an energy consultancy that provides professional energy management services to commercial clients. We help property owners control rising energy costs through the following:

Energy Management

With an increasingly complex energy market, Energy Intelligence provides professional energy management services designed to monitor and manage your energy costs.

• We offer independent tendering services using strategic analysis of current and future market trends to ensure we can secure the lowest possible market rates.

• We monitor building consumption and emissions ensuring building owners can verify the returns on energy efficiency investments.

• We review network tariffs and validate energy invoices to ensure you are not paying more than you should be.

Embedded Networks

Owners of large multi-tenanted buildings can on-sell energy to tenants. Tenants benefit through cheaper energy bills and owners benefit through additional income streams

Energy Intelligence can assist with all aspects of setting up and operating an embedded network including MSB modification, metering, tenant sign up and billing. This can be for both new and existing developments. We have an enviable client list that includes Colonial First State, GPT, Stockland, Federation, Dexus and the Pacific Group.

Get in touch

If any of the above topics interest you then please contact us:

Consultant

Queensland plans to implement the NECF by mid-2015, whilst Victoria has yet to announce when it intends to fully adopt the NECF. Western Australia and the Northern Territory are not part of the National Energy Market (NEM) and as such work under completely different regulatory frameworks with regards to electricity supply.

In July 2013 the AER issued revised guidelines relating to the on-selling and on-distributing of electricity. These guidelines provide a framework by which site owners may sell electricity to their tenants and recover network fees for those tenants choosing to purchase from their own retailer.

In addition to these federal guidelines, each state has certain nuances that are also relevant. For example, tenants in South Australia, New South Wales, ACT and Victoria have freedom of choice as to whether to purchase electricity supply from the landlord or from a licensed retailer.

Tenants in Queensland and Tasmania however, do not have any choice, and if the majority of tenants choose to purchase supply from the landlord then every tenant must do so once an embedded network is set up.

Similarly, although tenants in South Australia and New South Wales have freedom of choice, they require remotely read market metering (typical of large market customers) if they wish to purchase outside the embedded network. The higher cost of this metering typically negates the ability to purchase from a retailer of their choice and often leads to high sign-up rates.

In early 2014, the Australian Energy Market Commission began work on proposed changes to the National

Electricity Rules (NER) to better recognise embedded network arrangements within the NECF framework. Currently there is no specific reference in the NER to embedded networks, and no consistent national regime around the management of embedded networks and access to retail competition by customers within embedded networks. The lack of clarity in these arrangements poses a barrier to embedded network customers’ ability to contract with a retailer of their choice. The proposed rule change will create a new category of service provider-termed the embedded network manager (ENM) in the NER, to manage embedded network customers

David Regenspurger is the Founding Director and Principal Consultant of Energy Intelligence. David has significant experience within the embedded network sector, having implemented more than 70 embedded network sites across Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia over the past nine years. For more Information visit www.energyintel.com.au.

A COMING OF AGE STORY

Once the outcast of the energy industry, embedded networks have ‘come of age’, and on the back of a focused reform agenda will hold their own amongst other industry heavyweights.

Henry Paulson, the former US Secretary of the Treasury under President George W Bush, once said, “There is a very real danger that (financial) regulation will become a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

And so the question arises: is the current focus on increased embedded network (EN) regulation across the National Electricity Market (NEM) necessarily bad? Is it friend or foe? The answer is: it depends. It depends on who you ask and whose interests may potentially be adversely affected by the introduction of the current round of regulatory reform initiatives and changes.

EMBEDDED NETWORKS –BEST PRACTICE AND HERE TO STAY

Much to the chagrin of some industry participants, it is generally accepted that ENs are here to stay and that they are in fact ‘best practice’ when it comes to greenfield, residential, commercial and industrial developments.

As greenfield development continues, it is inevitable that ENs are likely to become more commonplace, capture a larger number of end use consumers and become a significant part of the NEM. As such, it will become an expectation that best practice is also translated to the

EMBEDDED NETWORKS ARE A RELATIVELY RECENT MEANS OF DISTRIBUTING ELECTRICITY.

management of market systems and the facilitation of consumer choice. To meet this end, embedded network owners (ENOs) will be required to get up to speed with the market systems and frameworks which other industry stakeholders are already well versed in.

It is against this backdrop and the ongoing issue of energy affordability and consumer protections, that ENs have fallen into favour with the regulators, making the industry essentially ripe for regulatory reform.

THE REGULATORY REFORM AGENDA

The NEM regulators always have very full reform agendas because not surprisingly, there’s always something to address in the energy industry. And so it followed that in

2014, given the growth in the number of ENs, and some confusion around roles and responsibilities of the players in the market, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) was tasked by the COAG Energy Council to develop a rule change to introduce new arrangements for ENs. In consultation with AEMO, industry stakeholders spent much of 2014 developing a detailed design framework to inform that rule change.

Fundamentally, this reform work has been focused on lowering barriers for retail competition within ENs and addressing existing problems in the operational interfaces between ENs and other NEM stakeholders and participants.

Currently, and without the proposed rule changes, ENs are not recognised in the National Electricity Rules (NER). Under

Fundamentally, the reform work is focused on lowering barriers for retail competition within ENs and addressing existing operational problems.

the current regulatory environment the Australian Energy Regulatory (AER) has no real legislative-based powers in which to regulate either exempt network service providers and/or electricity on-sellers.

The aim of the rule change is to formally recognise the AER exempt on-selling guidelines in the NER. In doing so, the AER will have further powers to apply civil penalties where there is evidence of non-compliance by ENOs.

Further, in the most recent round of regulatory reform affecting the operations of ENs, there are a number of areas of the market regulation and policy framework which have been retained by the state-based jurisdictional bodies. In these instances, notwithstanding the AER’s published exemption guidelines, some jurisdictions have simply carved out retail

EMBEDDED NETWORKS ARE COMMONLY SEEN IN SHOPPING CENTRES AND APARTMENT COMPLEXES, WHERE THE BUILDING OWNERS CAN PURCHASE ALL OF THE ELECTRICITY REQUIRED FOR THE BUILDING AT A BULK DISCOUNTED RATE AND THEN ON-SELL IT TO TENANTS.

contestably within ENs, as is the case in Queensland. In states like South Australia, whilst the application of the AER retail-exempt selling guidelines are in effect and retail competition within ENs is generally thought to be available, industry participants are confused by the process to effect their retailer of choice, making it impracticable in practice to ‘churn’ and become a market customer.

DESIGN AND OBJECTIVES

One of AEMO’s objectives is to codify the transfer process so as to allow it to be more streamlined and automated to closer reflect that which occurs in the broader retail market. The design is also expected to further lower barriers to competition in already competitive states like Victoria by further simplifying and streamlining the transfer process.

It is right to think this is a big reform agenda for a market which, whilst mature, is peppered with EN managers and EN agents whose knowledge of the rules and processes are still evolving – and in some instances are non-existent or worse still, possibly non-compliant.

NEW ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

The detailed market design work has reviewed a number of technical impediments to making choice of retailer in ENs easier, and has attempted to fix some, but not all, of them.

Specifically, the work has enunciated and outlined a process where local service network providers (LSNPs) are no longer responsible for the maintenance of the market system, MSATS, within ENs.

Under the proposed changes, this function would be undertaken by a new market participant role, namely an EN manager (ENM). An ENM needs to be accredited by

AEMO and their primary task is to receive and manage transfer requests for retailers choosing to supply customers within the applicable EN. ENOs will be required to appoint an accredited ENM as a condition of their network service provider exemption with the AER. Failure to appoint an ENM may result in non-compliance with the AER’s guidelines and leave ENOs open to civil penalties under the NER.

A BRAVE NEW EN WORLD

The move to formally regulate the EN industry means that new roles and corresponding responsibilities are required. In the first instance, the role and responsibilities of the ENM will be to:

• Manage MSATS and business-to-business transactions in order to allow for the set up and maintenance of NEM customers within an EN

• Perform the roles that would normally be performed by LNSPs for NEM customers

• Maintain the information required to facilitate subtractive metering to ensure accurate billing and settlements as they related to EN and NEM service points

• Communicate to all other relevant market participants on behalf of the ENO.

There are also proposed amendments to metering contestability currently in place – specifically allowing all retailers to be the responsible person (RP) for a National Meter Identifier or NMI of any size or metering type in an EN.

In addition, there are also thought to be changes to the B2B process to allow retailers, LNSPs and the ENM to better manage transactions, metering data and tariffing information. In light of the proposed changes, it is important to note that there

is no proposal to change the tariffing arrangements within ENs.

WHERE TO FROM HERE?

As is the case with most regulatory reform, change can be slow. The best part of the last 12 months has been spent on the consultation process, detailed design phase and rule change proposal. Pleasingly, the design and rule change proposal was submitted to the AEMC in September this year.

On the current timetable, it is anticipated that the AEMC review process may take up to 12 months. This will include public consultation and industry engagement once the final drafts of the rule changes are put together by the AEMC.

As for the implementation of any changes, the standard market procedure is to grandfather existing sites which would not comply with the new framework and rules governing ENs in the NER. The current view is that there is likely to be a two-year transitional phase for all existing ENs to become compliant but that all new ENs would be established in line with the new regulatory framework.

‘IS CHANGE, IS GOOD’

It is fair to say that for some players in the embedded network industry, these proposed changes will present some challenges to their operations, business model and fundamentally their overall profitability.

However, like a lot of other energy industry reform which has passed before us, in order for the EN industry to move forward and support the forecast growth, the requirement to have a tighter and more regulated framework increases. It is against this backdrop that the regulators should be given the legislative power to ensure that:

• Consumers within ENs can in all practical senses, effect ‘retailer of choice’ without the on-ground practical deterrents experienced by some EN customers in some NEM jurisdictions

• Maintain, and in some instances, actually enhance consumer protections

• There is integrity in the collection and maintenance of network data

• The EN industry is held accountable for its performance and conduct just like other energy industry participants.

As such, given the current momentum behind this round of regulatory reform, it would appear that there is a good chance that regulators will be able to deliver positive change for many industry participants, not least of all the growing number consumers within ENs.

And so, it may very well be that on this occasion that increased regulation may actually deliver industry participants the proverbial ‘sheep’, and not a menacing ‘wolf’.

WINenergy is a market leader in the establishment, implementation and ongoing management of embedded electricity networks in Australia, is a licensed electricity retailer across the NEM and a registered market participant of AEMO. For more information on embedded networks or how WINenergy can assist your business please contact our Executive GM – Market Development, Mr Douw De Kock on 02 9098 1242 or forward your enquiries to sales@winenergy.com.au.

PARTNERS IN ARMS: THE BENEFITS OF AN APPROVED PROVIDERS LIST

STAGED SUBDIVISION IN WATER GUM DRIVE, JORDAN SPRINGS. CREATION OF 292 LOTS CONTAINING RESIDENTIAL LOTS, RESIDUES, AND PUBLIC ROADS IN SIX DEVELOPMENT STAGES.

Utility spoke to Sydney Water’s General Manager Liveable City Solutions, Paul Plowman, about the benefits an approved providers program can provide utilities.

Prior to the establishment of an approved providers list in 1997, Sydney Water supervised all works relating to the delivery of infrastructure and assets to ensure quality control.

In 1997, after the decision was made to remove the requirement for Sydney Water to supervise works, a formal list of providers was developed to assist in the delivery of

water-related infrastructure and services in Sydney.

The approved providers list includes contractors who can undertake major and minor works, or who were qualified project managers, drillers, field testers, designers and sewer locators. These providers directly contract with

developers and Sydney Water customers.

In 2000 Sydney Water amended the approved providers list, replacing project managers with water servicing coordinators (WSCs), who acted as the intermediary between Sydney Water and developers. Their role was to assist developers meet Sydney Water’s requirements for delivery and protection of infrastructure, as well as obtain a compliance certificate.

Since its establishment in 1997, the list of approved contractors has grown to more than 300, providing developers with a competitive choice to assist them in delivering construction works.

While there is no set limit to the number of providers that can be placed on the list, Sydney Water only opens the list via application periodically to deliver its customers and the development industry with more choice and the best service delivery options.

In 2014 Sydney Water called for applications to be added to the approved providers list for the first time in a number of years. Sydney Water also announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA), which saw all field tester applications assessed by the NATA. NATA applied Sydney Water’s standards and

requirements to the accreditation process to ensure Sydney Water receives competent and accredited field testers for listing.

As well as being added to Sydney Water’s providers list, applicants who are approved by NATA will also receive accreditation from NATA, potentially opening up further opportunities in their field of expertise.

The criteria and assessment process for new applicants has evolved since the establishment of the list. One thing that hasn’t changed is the requirement for all applicants to undergo a rigorous assessment to ensure they meet Sydney Water’s quality assurance standards and relevant listing criteria.

Constructors of major works, minor works, drillers, field testers, designers and sewer locators that apply are required to have the following included on the list:

• Documented quality management system (QMS)

• Documented product specific quality plan (PSQP)

• Quality assurance certification of your QMS and PSQP

• Demonstrated experience within the water industry

• Demonstrated ability to plan and implement safety and environmental requirements

• Sydney Water’s current main laying standards

• Satisfactory ongoing performance with a minimum two jobs completed per year (companies that don’t meet this requirement will be removed from the listing)

• Appropriate current insurances.

Since 1997 the approved providers list has ensured a high quality of construction has occurred on newly built water-related infrastructure in

Sydney Water’s area of operation. It has also helped provide the development industry with cost competitive options when searching for high skilled constructors.

In the 2013-14 period, approved providers have enabled the provision of services to 21,000 dwellings with the design and construction of 127km of water mains and 148km of wastewater pipes. There have been a number of high-profile projects delivered over the past 18 years, which have made use of the approved providers list, including:

• The South West Rail Link –an 11km rail project including construction of two stations at Leppington and Edmondson Park which impacted seven water mains. The service provider negotiated with the constructor of the railway the best way to divert Sydney Water’s pipes while maintaining water supply to existing customers in the area.

• Upgrade to the Sydney Opera House – construction of an underground service area involved engaging a provider to redesign and move a large diameter stormwater pipe, one of the oldest stormwater channels in the city.

• Homebush Bay – establishment of the Olympic village at Newington and development of a sporting precinct ahead of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Approved providers are a good way for utilities to assist in the delivery of major projects and adherence to quality assurances standards. It also gives our customers choice and helps them navigate the complexity of deciding who to choose to provide services.

ACCREDITATION LEADS TO SOLID PARTNERSHIP

The objective of Hitec Drainage is to deliver a quality service on time and budget. The company’s ‘total commitment to quality’ approach has ensured a large repeat business clientele base and is the driving force behind their success.

During more than 14 years of operation, Hitec Drainage has earned a solid reputation for reliability and quality within the water infrastructure sector. Initially established to provide underground services to small-scale residential developments, their focus has now shifted to the provision of water, sewer and stormwater drainage to larger scale developments.

The company owns and maintains an extensive and ever-growing fleet of plant and machinery, ensuring a streamlined and timely delivery of the services it provides.

Hitec Drainage has been an accredited Sydney Water Contractor since 2002 and has installed a range

of reticulation systems within their network varying in size and pipe types from 63-750mm on waste, potable and recycled water systems. Hitec Drainage was involved in the Network Alliance Program, upgrading water mains and installing pressure reducing valves and flow meters in various locations throughout Sydney, Illawarra and the Blue Mountains.

A core aspect of their business has been watermain amplifications, or upsizing of existing assets identified as having insufficient capacity for a proposed development. These works require a different approach to greenfield developments. Hitec Drainage takes on the role of principal contractor, therefore being responsible for all aspects of workplace health and safety, quality assurance, environmental compliance, and permits and approvals management. Works are generally within heavily built-up public areas and main roadways, with the involvement

of multiple stakeholders such as RMS, local councils, public transport services and other utility providers.

Working on Sydney Water assets requires a specialist approach to quality and safety. Hitec Drainage maintains a fully accredited Quality System to AS/ NZS ISO:9001, along with NSW Government workplace health and safety management system, both certified by Trust Mark.

For more information about how Hitec Drainage can help you, visit www.hitecdrainage.com.au.

Future of Urban Water

The Future of Urban Water: Scenarios for Urban Water Utilities in 2040

Scenarios provide a unique opportunity to explore and compare alternative plausible futures. They are an effective engagement and communication tool that enables us to gain a better understanding of possible pathways towards the future of urban water utilities. Key considerations include the role of different stakeholders and alternative system designs. Images (L-R from top to bottom): Autonomous Communities, Better Together Incremental Improvements, Survival of the Fittest © Arup.

The face of the water sector is rapidly changing as it is forced to respond to a unique set of environmental, economic and societal challenges. Along with these challenges come changes to the regulatory and governance frameworks. How the sector responds and navigates through these challenges and the resulting transition will ultimately govern its success.

Arup is at the forefront of this transition and is working closely with the water sector to help it position itself to meet these challenges

We are working on a range of fronts to promote both business and engineering innovation, the use of cutting-edge engineering efficiency technologies and the role of water in generating environmental and community outcomes. Arup is actively collaborating with the water industry to nurture and facilitate innovation and inspire a progressive water sector. This has been demonstrated through new approaches such as our partnership with Sydney Water to develop the highly regarded ‘The Future of Urban Water’ report.

Contact:

Daniel Lambert, Water Business Leader, Australasia

daniel.lambert@arup.com

SAFETY MANAGEMENT IS IN THE PIPELINE

‘Pipeline’ is the aptly named management system for plumbing and civil infrastructure services provider K&D, which has not only created a strong focus on workplace safety, but has revolutionised the way the company handles every facet of their business.

The Pipeline management system developed by K&D was recently awarded the 2014 Safe Work Award by WorkCover for best workplace health and safety management system.

WorkCover NSW CEO Vivek Bhatia said “K&D has gone above and beyond what is expected of a business their size and has built a safety framework that can grow and evolve with the business.

“I commend K&D for making safety a priority and for their ongoing commitment to reducing injuries, hazards and risks,” Mr Bhatia said.

Established in 1993, K&D is an Australian privately-owned company with over 20 years experience in water utility asset maintenance, including water main renewals, water meter replacements and main to meter repairs and replacements.

K&D uses the latest technology to make the Pipeline system available to all workers via smartphones and tablets. In an instant, workers can access safety training, risk management tools, safety alerts, legislation, plant and equipment safety records and return to work resources.

K&D General Manager Joanne Tonks said, “The most important thing is that our employees get home to their families at the end of each day safely. We are thrilled to be recognised by WorkCover in winning this award.

“Having worked with our key clients for a number of years, K&D has gained

a depth of knowledge and experience in complying with legislative, client and internal requirements in developing Pipeline. Innovation, customer service and quality management is key to the genesis of why we developed our own integrated management system. Our clients love it.

“All staff have 24-hour access to Pipeline and all staff contribute to having input on system improvement through our Facebook consultation group.”

PIPELINE IN ACTION

The Pipeline system has been used by a number of organisations around the country since being introduced to the market.

WATER METER REPLACEMENTS

K&D recently completed a contract for Goulburn Mulwaree Council to replace 1,000 mixed age and worn domestic water meters. Real-time updates, photos to verify electrical

THE TEAM FROM K&D ACCEPT THEIR AWARD FOR BEST WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FROM WORKCOVER.

safety, pre-changeover meter readings and post-changeover meter number and restoration ensure the highest standard in customer service, safety and quality.

“K&D’s professionalism and time management made for a quick easy project, which really in this industry is hard to find,” said Goulburn Mulwaree Council Project Manager Mathew Jones.

WATER MAIN RENEWALS

Pipeline has allowed K&D to throw away the traditional site folder. All site and maintenance checks are completed on the system, and all Dial Before You Dig records, project management plans, drawings, and MSDS reports are accessed by all staff in the one place.

“Focusing on our system and processes has allowed us to streamline documentation and reporting to clients,” said Ms Tonks. “Crews can focus on delivery knowing that all documentation is in one place and is

continuously updated with the most current information.”

Veolia Water Operations Manager

Jean-François Viver said, “K&D is a proactive company that often brings new ways to deliver work and improve communication using the latest technologies for clients’ needs.”

MAIN TO METER MAINTENANCE

Being the largest provider of main to meter repairs in Australia, K&D needs a safety system that could be relied upon to document tens of thousands of individual jobs on unique sites.

“With jobs spread over a vast geographical area, particularly for works for Sydney Water, a paperless system is a necessity,” said Ms Tonks.

K&D's innovative and agile team deliver real-time job reporting directly integrated into Sydney Water’s CRM system so customers can be informed of progress as jobs are completed, 24 hours per day, 365 days a year.

For more information about K&D and the Pipeline safety management system, visit www. kandd.com.au or email info@ kandd.com.au.

THE PIPELINE SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM HAS BEEN USED ON CIVIL CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS AROUND THE COUNTRY.

MAKING THE RIGHT DECISIONS

The water industry is no longer forced to make large design or plant optimisation decisions on limited water quality datasets – often being confined to grab or composite sampling techniques, which inevitably and unavoidably miss key events.

DCM Process Control specialises in real-time water characterisation studies and water quality parameter measurement, utilising the S::CAN range of UV/Vis Spectro::lysers, which they have been using exclusively for over ten years in Australia and New Zealand.

As dynamic models developed in the industry, so too did a core part of DCM’s business. Their comprehensive data supply service provides key, minute-by-minute water quality information for clients to drive and validate their models, while also being

able to capture and quantify highloading events as they happen.

By eliminating the guesswork DCM minimises risk, and provides high-level water quality data for characterisation, design, optimisation, event detection and feed-forward control purposes.

Where only traditional datasets are available, consultants, designers and financiers are forced to assume that small datasets of grab samples are actually representative of the true load, which may result in suboptimal understanding of the water quality within a catchment. This can lead to high capital outlay where not required, or the undersizing of some sections of an otherwise suitable plant design.

Whether for a $10 million or a $100 million project, even small design errors result in significant rises in capital expenditure with infrastructure and

operational costs, than would occur with appropriate real-time datasets.

Real-time high resolution monitoring over peak load periods, whether summer holidays or cold winters when low temperatures limit treatment processes, provides key data to minimise the risk of treatment failure and asset expenditure.

DCM’s local development team has augmented the S::CAN instruments with world-class infrastructure and sample delivery mechanisms, which allows DCM to deploy and collect water quality data from raw sewers to natural waters.

From source to the sea, DCM has it covered. Contact DCM’s Sales & Operations Manager James on (03) 9417 0254 to learn more about how DCM can help your business.

JOIN US AT THE NSW WATER INDUSTRY OPERATIONS CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION

Orange PCYC 25 & 26 March, 2015

Promoting best practice in water management by building the knowledge, skills and networks of industry operators. WIOA annual conferences provide a medium for individuals involved in water operations to:

• Listen to the experience of others through the latest “operational” technical and research based information through platform and poster presentations.

• View and discuss the latest advances in technical equipment, products and services with suppliers and trade consultants

• Update their knowledge and skills through interaction with fellow water industry employees.

THE FUTURE OF ASSET INSPECTION

Unmanned aerial systems are being employed for asset inspection by a growing number of utilities throughout the world. Using drones for asset inspection provides a number of substantial improvements over traditional inspection methods, including benefits to safety, efficiency and data quality. We spoke to Melbourne Water Technology Enablement Specialist Frank Courtney about the company’s recent trials of drone technology.

Across Australia and around the world, utilities own, manage and maintain a vast array of infrastructure.

To prevent faults, service interruptions and significant accidents and damage, assets must be regularly inspected to detect any issues as early as possible. This is increasingly vital as infrastructure ages.

However, inspecting assets manually is a time-consuming and labour-intensive process that comprises a significant percentage of a utility’s operating costs each year. In some cases, manual inspection of certain assets can also be dangerous.

However, developments in unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and vehicles (UAV) look set to streamline and enhance the asset inspection process. As a result, UAV inspections are being trialled and adopted by a growing number of utilities.

DRONES AT MELBOURNE WATER

As the wholesale water services provider for Victoria’s capital, Melbourne Water manages a vast system of reservoirs, plants, drains and pipes. Each year, the company supplies over 400 billion litres of water over 1,057km of water mains, manages the health of 8,400km of waterways and treats 306 billion litres of sewage.

Recently, the company decided to trial UAV infrastructure inspections in order to investigate the possibility of incorporating such emerging technologies into its asset management strategy.

To complete the inspections, Melbourne Water hired Paul Martin from Aerial Photography Specialists. Mr Martin’s team also analysed the resulting data.

Two of the assets inspected during the trials were the

DRONE TERMINOLOGY

UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) refers to any unpiloted, remotely controlled aircraft. They are commonly referred to as drones. UAS (unmanned aerial system) includes the UAV itself, as well as the associated ground station, communications service and other elements.

Thomson Dam Spillway and the Main Southern Carrier of the Western Treatment Plant.

Inspection of the Thomson Spillway involved assessing the entire structure to identify and locate anomalies such as:

• Cracking

• Shifting

• Chipping

• Surface degradation

• Weed encroachment.

Inspection of the Western Treatment Plant’s Main Southern Carrier sought to locate and identify anomalies such as:

• Cracking

• Shifting of the panels

• Surface degradation.

Two different flight missions were conducted over the Main Southern Carrier: an aerial photographic survey and an aerial video survey.

The aerial photographic survey was undertaken with a Microdrones MD4-1000 UAV drone. This 3.9km flight was pre-programmed and guided by GPS coordinates with the option of a manual override if necessary. The UAV drone flew over the Main Southern Carrier at an altitude of 22m at 2.8m/s, with the downward-facing camera set to capture images every four seconds.

The aerial video survey used a manually piloted Ascending Technologies Falcon 8 UAV drone, which was flown just over the bank height and over the Main Southern Carrier’s bridges. Continuous video footage was captured by a forward-facing

camera throughout the flight path, including deviations to inspect any detected anomalies more closely.

The inspection of the Western Treatment Plant’s Main Southern Carrier captured images of a variety of potential issues. These included gaps in between panels and erosion. The footage also allowed the identification of ‘hotspots’ where multiple potential issues were found. Furthermore, the high resolution of the images and the UAV’s consistent position above the ground meant that the size and dimensions of anomalies could be accurately measured.

THE BENEFITS OF UAV

Mr Courtney says that Melbourne Water’s trials were “very successful” and identified numerous benefits of using UAVs over manual inspection methods.

Initially, Melbourne Water chose to undertake the trials due to the substantial safety improvements realised by preventing staff from being in direct contact with hazards. Manual utility inspection often involves working at heights, working with or near high voltage assets, biological hazards and large bodies of water. Employing a drone to inspect assets means that staff can stay at a safe distance, reducing the likelihood of injury. However, the trials also revealed a range of additional benefits. Drone inspections offered higher quality, more accurate and usable data, as well improving efficiency and reducing costs.

“As we defined the scope of the trials further, we also looked at the time taken for drone-based inspection as a factor of the overall cost. This led to an expectation that a suitably scheduled program of inspections would deliver high quality and timely outcomes at a reduced cost per inspection,” said Mr Courtney.

Drone footage is also highly accurate and can be presented in a variety of formats to maximise functionality.

During Melbourne Water’s trials these included:

• Raw HD photography and video (entire flight)

• Marked up photography (indicating specific anomalies)

• Thermal imagery

MELBOURNE WATER HAS SEEN CONSIDERABLE BENEFITS SINCE INTRODUCING DRONES TO ITS ASSET MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.

• Tabular format (all identified anomalies categorised to MW coding)

• Written reports with narrative and specifications.

Importantly, all imagery captured and anomalies recorded by the drone are spatially tagged and therefore can be incorporated readily into the utility’s GIS. For instance, the ‘hotspots’ identified during the inspection of the Main Southern Carrier “were comprehensively photographed, GPS tagged and assessed using Melbourne Water’s grading system, which allowed our civil engineers to take the data and immediately include these hotspots in their capital forecasting plans,” said Mr Courtney.

The ability to record the size and dimension of anomalies also means that they can be compared after each subsequent inspection to detect and measure any changes that may have occurred.

Image processing tools can also be used to streamline the post-capture analysis process by partially automating the identification of anomalies.

LESSONS LEARNED

Mr Courtney said that a number of important lessons were learned throughout the trials that will inform Melbourne Water’s approach to drone inspections in the future.

“The definition of the inspection scope is critical as it defines the flight planning, safety planning and the fit-out

of the UAV itself. The payload specification will vary from inspection to inspection as the desired output will differ.

“Thorough scoping of the inspection activity is important to define just what the desired outputs need to look like. This is entirely dependent on the business process that the inspection activity is looking to support.

“So the big lesson is the importance of working with the UAV pilot to marry up the desired output with the safety plan, equipment and the flight plan – all of this together combines into a successful operation.

“We also learned the effect that weather has on the suitability of drones for inspections – in our case the weather wasn’t a factor for the UAV, but was a problem at times for the payload. Spotty cloud and gusty wind caused problems for us in doing thermal inspection of high-voltage power assets and mapping large lagoon covers. While the UAV was happy to hover in these conditions, the image quality from the cameras was unsuitable.”

CHOOSING THE RIGHT DRONE

Mr Courtney said that choosing the right operator for the job is vital. The chosen drone operator must fulfil four main criteria “before you even start to talk rates”.

• They need to be able to confidently fly the UAV in the intended location.

• They need to be able to capture quality data (i.e. have some high level skills in photography/ thermography).

• They need to be able to recognise what they are looking at, so they must have some skill in identifying corrosion, concrete issues (cracking,

spalling, etc.), faults or other anomalies.

• Most importantly they need to be able to manage themselves and their personal safety in accordance with the site owner and operator. Construction site induction, permit to work, HV awareness, explosive gas awareness and chlorine awareness are just some of the safety issues that UAV operators would need to be able to conduct operations at our sites.

WHERE TO NEXT?

Mr Courtney believes there is great potential for the adoption of drone inspection at Melbourne Water. Because effectively operating unmanned aerial systems requires a specific skillset and significant experience, the company intends to adopt a supplier panel approach as opposed to delivering drone inspection services in-house.

Further trials are planned and include measuring greenhouse emissions from treatment lagoons, HV asset inspections, sludge pan sampling and reservoir cover condition monitoring.

Melbourne Water intends to soon complete a review of their inspection activities, to assess the costs and benefits of various approaches including drones.

“We are now looking to develop a process framework

for inspection activities across the business – this will be a technology agnostic process which will focus on the current range of inspections we undertake, then identify which of these we will migrate to using technologies such as UAV. Some of these will involve aerial, submerged and even subterranean operations and technologies.

“The review will seek to quantify the scope and need for these works, and we will use that as a basis for a procurement and planning strategy. We feel that we need to look at the introduction of these technologies as they apply across the whole business.”

Mr Courtney believes that the coming years will see the use of drones become a key component of asset management for both Melbourne Water and the utility industry in general.

“For those inspections that do not require ‘hands on’ manipulation of an asset, we should be seeking to perform remotely as a standard practice. There is proven technology to deliver inspection data without placing people in hazardous situations.

“As the capability and flexibility of UAVs increases and the costs fall, expect to see UAV become a standard part of the toolkit!”

Environmental Consulting Solutions Hydrographic Technology

Our Infrastructure team remain at the cutting edge of solutions driven technology with the use of remote sensing boat technology to deliver hydrographic mapping.

Cutting Edge Technology

Vehicle Mounted LIDAR

This solution overcomes the challenges of mapping linear features to a high level of accuracy and is being used with great success as part of our service delivery on the NBN project.

Aerial Survey Solutions

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Mapping

We complement our traditional surveying services with aerial surveying using UAVs, delivering orthorectified imagery and digital elevation models in all common CAD and GIS formats.

Rapid Response Services

Terrestrial Scanning

Terrestrial scanning is our preferred method of survey for projects requiring a high level of accuracy. We can assist you with extracting information, or simply provide the point cloud to you directly. Our team of over 40 surveyors means that we can be on site, to most places in Melbourne, within 24 hours.

Our rapid response survey units use the latest in GPS, robotic total station and digital leveling technology to deliver acurate and cost effective solutions for a broad range of projects and market sectors. Visit our website to find out more.

SURVEYING THE SCENE WITH A UAV

One of the big misconceptions the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) industry faces is that the technologies in question are little more than hotted up toys. The truth is that some commercial UAV operators utilise state-of-the-art technology, and many others don’t. Even the best equipment still requires a skilled operator to get the best results and extract the most potential out of the equipment.

UAVs have become a hot topic in the utility, asset management and major construction industries in recent years.

The benefits UAVs can provide utilities and asset owners are impressive, particularly in the areas of industrial inspection.

Paul Martin from Aerial Photography Specialists (APS) has been using UAVs to provide photography services to utilities and major asset owners for more than eight years.

“We’re the original and most

experienced multi-rotor UAV inspection company in Australia,” said Mr Martin. “In our time we’ve provided services to over 100 different companies on a wide range of projects. We have experience operating our equipment in and around high-value plants and assets, which is absolutely imperative especially in the oil and gas industry. We are very proud of our perfect safety record, especially considering some of the complex and difficult tasks we have completed.

“We also have the ability to turn the data into meaningful reports and measurable information which turns the service offering into a true end-to-end service solution.”

As the UAV is guided to specific viewpoints, engineers can monitor and control what the camera is viewing, enabling them to select the exact photos they wish to capture. The equipment is safe and unobtrusive, allowing APS to operate on almost any site without

Australia’s first ever multi rotor operator

causing any disruption to operations.

“We’re able to instruct the UAV to take photographs from any height, angle and orientation,” said Mr Martin. “Combine this with our additional ground-based camera systems and we can offer true 360 degree coverage of any asset.”

APS is Australia’s first ever multirotor operator, and has performed more industrial inspections than anyone else in Australia. The company understands the importance of operating safely and efficiently in accordance with on-site activities, and is fully licensed and insured for all of its activities.

“We are a Civil Aviation Safety Authority-certified UAV operator, CM3 certified, we have all insurances and many other industry standard training certificates,” said Mr Martin. “We use the best equipment, we have the experience and we can get the job done right the first time, safely and cost-effectively.”

Operating for eight years, Aerial Photography Specialists are Australia’s first and most experienced unmanned aerial vehicle inspection company.

Committed to safety and quality

We specialise in operating equipment around high-value assets and have a PERFECT safety record.

Over one hundred Australian companies have benefited from our unique service offering and unparalleled experience. We

DRONES AND PUBLIC LIABILITY: WHERE DO WE STAND?

As the popularity of drones continues to grow, these marvels of technology are now being purchased over the counter and through the mail for recreational and professional purposes across Australia.

This rapid proliferation of small drones has created a significant challenge for the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), the body responsible for enforcing current rules while developing future regulations that will enable the safe and sustainable growth of this emerging and important sector of the aviation industry.

“The rules and regulations for drones exist to provide a clear and safe operating framework, but many individuals, organisations, and government agencies, are still unaware of the basic rules and duty of care obligations to the wider community,” said Mark Xavier, CEO of V-TOL Aerospace.

“Stories of drones in near misses

with passenger aircraft and injuries to bystanders are becoming a daily occurrence around the globe. Australia is seeing a rise in such incidents, of which 99 per cent can be attributed to untrained and unapproved operators flying small drones in an unsafe or hazardous manner,” he continued.

The majority of small drones being flown for any purpose are being launched and recovered from either private or public land. “Without the need of a traditional aerodrome, many flights commence and conclude on public land, making local and state governments, particularly in urban areas, a stakeholder with risk. This is not just a CASA problem,” said Mr Xavier.

“There is no doubt that this technology in its basic form is affordable, easily acquired, is becoming more reliable and can provide individuals recreational enjoyment and organisations access

to timely, detailed, accurate and highly valuable geospatial information,” said Frank Martin, CEO of the Australian Unmanned Systems Academy (AUSA).

“At the local government level there are two important questions being asked. How can councils take advantage of this technology in their routine business and during periods of emergency? And how do we control the use of drones and ensure we address our legal duty of care to our constituents in maintaining their safety?” he continued.

AUSA, in conjunction with CASA, will be addressing these very questions and associated issues at a two-day ‘Drones in Local Government’ conference from 12-13 February in Ipswich, Queensland.

For further information on this conference, please contact events@ausacademy.org or go to www.ausacademy.org.

THINK YOU KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT SEWER REHABILITATION?

The technologies available to rehabilitate sewers are continuously evolving. Here we take a closer look at epoxy sewer lining, a technique which has a number of benefits that make it well suited to rehabilitating existing sewer systems.

As Australia’s critical assets age, more and more emphasis is directed at rehabilitating and maintaining existing assets, as opposed to building new assets. Rehabilitation, rather than rebuilding, is better for the asset owner, better for the community and better for the environment.

Australia’s water utilities have asset management and rehabilitation plans in place. In addition, many also have annual targets for the inspection and maintenance of their assets.

There is a wide range of materials and technologies available for the rehabilitation of existing structures. These include epoxy liners, calcium aluminate cement (CAC) mortars, HDPE liners and others.

Epoxy liners in particular are well suited to the task of lining and relining sewer structures. Some of the key benefits they offer include:

Chemically resistant

Epoxy products have superior acid resistance, which makes them particularly useful in the sewer environment, where structures are subject to acid attack.

Long-lasting

Because they are chemically resistant, epoxy liners are long-lasting. An epoxy liner will stay in place with minimal erosion for years and even decades. In contrast, CAC mortars, for example, will erode over time, depending on the level of hydrogen sulphide the liner is exposed to.

Low friction

Epoxy liners have a smooth finish, which means they are low-friction. As matter is moved through the system, it won’t stick to the liner, which can cause blockages – a sewer asset manager’s worst nightmare!

Reduced thickness

An epoxy liner can be applied in thicknesses as small as 2-3mm. This means that valuable internal diameter doesn’t have to be handed over to rehabilitating an asset. When compared to other liners, which can have thicknesses of up to 30mm+, it’s a considerable difference.

BENEFITS TO WATER AUTHORITIES

According to Colin Murphy, product manager for Hychem, water authorities are starting to take notice of the benefits epoxy coatings can offer. “We have a number of clients in the water industry who have been very impressed with the performance of epoxy coatings in their systems in the long-term. “The product has an attractive price point, holds up well to the rigours of the harsh sewer environment, and can last the distance. We have clients who have reported minimal change to the lining they had installed 15-20 years ago.”

MELBOURNE WATER

One such project was the North Drop Structure, which was relined by Melbourne Water in the 1990s.

Melbourne Water commissioned an assessment of the state of the coating in 2013. When assessed by a National Association of Corrosion Engineerscertified assessor, the coating was found to have held up considerably well in what was an extremely harsh environment.

The sewer featured a range of materials in its construction, including concrete, bricks and mortar and steel – a testament to the versatility of the coating used, Hychem TL5. The assessor noted that in the approximately 15 years since

the coating had been applied, in many places, the coating remained the same as the original high build thickness applied. Where corrosion had occurred, it was as a result of acid attack.

The assessor noted the quality of the coating and the way it performed compared to other coatings in similar situations. The assessor recommended that where rehabilitation of the North Drop Structure was required, Hychem TL5 should be used again.

BARWON WATER

In 1995, Hychem TL5 was used by Tenix Australia to rehabilitate a 300 square metre section of the Geelong outfall sewer for Barwon Water. The 2.4m outfall pipe drop structure was coated in the Hychem product, and, in a highly aggressive environment, provided excellent protection to the main structure. Peter Clark, owner of epoxy sewer lining specialist Peltos, is particularly impressed with the performance of Hychem TL5 on this project. “When inspected as part of the routine maintenance cycle, the coating was in the same condition as when it was installed,” said Mr Clark. “In a high hydrogen sulphide environment, Hychem stood up the to test. Peltos has a 100 per cent success rate with this product – it never fails.”

A VERSATILE SOLUTION

Hychem TL5 epoxy coating has proven itself in harsh and aggressive sewer environments, having been used by numerous utilities and water authorities around Australia.

REHABILITATING A CENTURY-OLD SEWER

Melbourne Water is currently undertaking works to rehabilitate a 114-year-old sewer in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Carlton.

The Carlton main sewer transfers sewage from the suburbs of Carlton, Brunswick and the southern areas of Coburg to the Western Treatment Plant at Werribee, Victoria.

It was originally built in 1900 by Melbourne Water’s predecessor, the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW), which was established in 1891 to take responsibility for the city’s water supply and sewage treatment. The original brick-lined tunnel is now suffering the impacts of its age and is unlikely to cope with future demand.

To prevent possible collapse or blockages, Melbourne Water is relining

a 1.35km section of the sewer between Pigdon and Princes streets in Carlton North. The project will be undertaken by a KBR and John Holland joint venture.

The relining works will use existing manholes in the area, and require the construction of one new shaft. A balloon-like liner will then be inserted into the sewer tunnel and filled with warm water, causing the liner to adhere to the brick sewer walls. Once it has stuck, the water will be drained, leaving only the liner.

A new 510m sewer bypass connection will also be constructed to compensate for the reduced diameter of the relined main sewer and accommodate population growth in the area. The sewer bypass will be 1.4m in diameter and run along Pigdon and Scotchmer Streets, between Amess

Street in Carlton North and Rae Street in Fitzroy North.

This new section of sewer will be tunnelled under the street up to 10m below ground and connect the Carlton main sewer with another Melbourne Water sewer.

This will require two shafts to be constructed, one of which will serve as the launching site for the tunnel boring machine. The machine will then bore underground in a westerly direction to the second shaft site.

This vital project will help futureproof the Melbourne area’s sewerage network, hopefully allowing it to deal with the demands of a growing population for another century or more.

COLLATING, CONVEYING AND COORDINATING –

A NEW STANDARD FOR SUBSURFACE UTILITY INFORMATION

Knowing the precise location of a subsurface utility, what it is, its condition and its status can significantly reduce the occurrence of interference and conflict with valuable infrastructure.

In the February 2014 edition of Utility, Anthony Johnstone of Access Detection discussed what the new Classification of Subsurface Utility Information Standard AS5488 means for utility locators. Now AS54882013 committee member Bruce Potter explains some of the background to the development of the standard, and how it is intended to be used.

The standard provides a common method for utility owners, operators, locators and engineering professionals

to capture and make available more accurate and consistent information about the characteristics of subsurface utilities than in the past.

Based on the four quality levels of the American Society of Civil Engineers, outlined in 38-02 Standard Guideline for the Collection and Depiction of Existing Subsurface Utility Data, the new Australian standard incorporates absolute and relative spatial tolerances while providing supplementary information on how to display utility codes and colours on

AS THE UNDERGROUND ASSET LANDSCAPE BECOMES INCREASINGLY COMPLEX, NEW STANDARDS FOR SUBSURFACE UTILITY INFORMATION ARE REQUIRED.

plans, electronic models and in the field.

Prepared by Standards Australia Committee IT-036 Subsurface Utility Engineering, the standard is the first of its kind in Australia, and was officially released to the public in June 2013. The committee, chaired by Mark Gordon, consisted of representatives from 20 nominated organisations who convened for their first committee meeting in August 2011.

The 20 nominated organisations are ANZLIC – the Spatial Information Council, Australasian Railway Association, Australian Institute of Mine Surveyors, Australian Local Government Association, Australian Services Union, Austroads, Dial Before You Dig, Energy Networks Association, Engineers Australia, Geospatial Information and Technology Association, Heads of Workplace Safety Authorities, Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia, National Broadband Network, National Utility Locating Contractors Association, NSW Streets Opening Conference, Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute, Telstra Corporation, University of New South Wales, Water Services Association of Australia and WorkCover New South Wales.

The new Australian standard is intended to be used by

those involved in the process of identifying, capturing, conveying, coordinating and designing underground utility information, and combines the principles of civil/utility engineering, utility data and asset management, along with geophysics and locating methods and techniques.

A study sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in the United States found that $4.62 for every $1 spent on identifying, collating, conveying and coordinating accurate underground utility information was saved on overall project costs.

The quality levels from the new Australian standard represent a transition from unreliable to reliable underground utility data defining the activities and outcomes of underground utility designation and coordination for utility owners/operators, utility locators and engineering professionals. Quality levels can be used individually, but are more effective if used sequentially, to identify and mitigate potential utility conflicts at each stage of a typical project – from original concept to detailed design.

Utility owners/operators who adopt the quality levels have a mechanism to define, receive and communicate reliable utility information based upon better defined design, as-built and asset management attribute and metadata recording requirements.

Utility locators are provided with a clear set of attribute and metadata requirements to obtain and designate underground utility data based on a defined scope of work. To meet the minimum spatial tolerance of the new Australian standard, utility locators must select the appropriate locating equipment, depicting and conveying point, and line data in the form of utility survey information to the required quality level.

Engineering professionals now have a more consistent approach to utility investigations, coordination and design than ever before. Using quality levels and their respective attribute and metadata as a design manual enables an engineering professional to understand the accuracy of, and to classify the utility data they receive, such as Dial Before You Dig (DBYD) data, as-builts, design plans and utility surveys. They may then confidently assess and rectify the effects of potential underground utility conflicts throughout various stages of design and construction.

In order to begin the process of obtaining underground utility information, the engineering professional in particular needs to understand the minimum requirements of each quality level and determine the extent of information required.

Quality Level D (QLD) information is likely to be associated with feasibility or business case activities, providing due diligence utility investigations and reporting from site sketches, DBYD enquiries, anecdotal evidence and the like to determine the existence of underground utilities within a project.

Quality Level C (QLC) information is likely to be

associated with conceptual or preliminary design activities, forming a database of existing utility information from feature topographic surveys and/or site measurements supplemented by any information obtained and classified as QLD. This collated information allows the identification and reporting of likely conflicts/clashes from existing and known utility designs within a project.

Quality Level B (QLB) information is likely to be associated with design development activities, based on electronic surface detection and supplemented by any information obtained and classified as QLC, collating a database of existing and known utility design information to develop protection and/or relocation strategies to those existing utilities in direct conflict within a project. By default, these strategies develop into design coordination and construction sequencing.

Quality Level A (QLA) information is likely to be associated with detailed design activities, based on a utility database from validated/positively identified horizontal and vertical components of existing and known utility design information, supplemented by relevant information collated and classified as QLB and in some instances QLC.

Coordinated, engineered plans and/or electronic models in accordance with the relevant design requirements are produced, consisting of three-dimensional geometry of all protected or relocated utilities, by implementing and refining the design coordination and construction sequencing developed in QLB.

For all parties, particularly engineering professionals involved in the process of identifying, capturing, conveying, coordinating and designing underground utility information, the new Australian standard represents a common language to make accurate, confident and realistic decisions about the spatial positions of utilities.

This allows action to be taken to mitigate and solve potential utility conflicts, thus minimising damage and associated delays. ABOUT

Bruce Potter is a current Standards Australia, Subsurface Utility Engineering committee member (IT-036), who represented Engineers Australia in the development of Australian Standard AS5488-2013

‘Classification of Subsurface Utility Information (SUI)’. He is a Certified Engineering Technologist and registered engineering technologist experienced in all aspects of civil engineering, utility design and a specialist in the field of Subsurface Utility Engineering/ Public Utility Plant, encompassing professional utility coordination, utility data management, field data gathering and utility asset management.

Edge Underground is a precision microtunnelling contractor that operates in Australia and the USA. With a focus on innovative technology and expertise, Edge Underground designs and enhances the performance of trenchless equipment.

MANAGING EXCAVATIONS IN A CHANGING LANDSCAPE

Avoiding utility asset strikes is a crucial element of any major project involving excavation. Dominic Puiu discusses the challenges in this process, the role Dial Before You Dig plays, and their current efforts to encouraging the use of locators on excavations.

Dial Before You Dig (DBYD) is a national referral system that provides a free service for excavators. Nominate a location of work online or by phone, and the DBYD service will arrange a response from member utilities known to have assets at that location. The response will usually be a schematic in PDF format sent by email. For transmission assets, some asset owners will provide on-site assistance. In 2014 the service handled just under 1.2 million transactions nationally.

Many excavators would like the quality of the information provided by utilities to be better.

Excavators are often unhappy that utilities cannot guarantee the depth or alignment of their underground networks. Many consider that the duty of care statements provided by utilities place too much of a burden on excavators.

GUARANTEEING ASSET LOCATION?

It’s a fair question: why can’t utilities guarantee the depth and alignment of their networks?

The answer is tied in with the age and diversity of the networks of major utilities.

Anyone excavating in an urban area in Australia is almost certain to be working near underground networks that were installed over 40 years ago.

For example, Telstra owns and operates the largest utility network in Australia. Half of Telstra’s conduits are composed of asbestos cement and have been in the ground for at least 40 years. A quarter of Telstra’s conduits are earthenware and have been in the ground for at least 60 years. Only a fifth of Telstra’s network is plastic conduits, with the remainder being concrete and galvanised iron. So three-quarters of Telstra’s pipes are over 40 years old.

And Telstra is certainly not alone. Modern techniques in relining, pipe

bursting and re-sleeving mean that many rehabilitated water, sewer and gas mains are in the same alignment as when first laid. Electricity cables laid decades ago are still in use across Australia.

In 40 years, many things can affect the relative depth of an underground pipe or cable. Councils and road authorities can raise and lower footpaths and carriageways. Councils and road authorities widen, narrow and realign roads. Since World War II almost every major road in Australia’s capital cities has been widened and realigned. Property owners also build and rebuild. Landscapers raise and lower yards and verges.

All of these actions affect the relative depth and alignment of existing networks. To take just one example, Hassall Street in Parramatta, New South Wales was realigned a few years ago. The original alignment was incorporated into James Ruse Reserve.

But the utilities are still on the original road alignment. Running through James Ruse Reserve are major networks for Telstra, Jemena, Optus and Sydney Water.

This is not unique. Thousands of private properties and public places across Australia contain major networks. Many of these are not in easements.

WORKING WITH A CHANGING LANDSCAPE

The age of many networks is why utilities expect excavators to pothole to positively identify the depth and alignment of networks.

Put simply, seeing is believing. Exposing networks is the only way to be sure of their depth and alignment.

For the same reason, utilities also encourage excavators to hire professional locators. Telstra runs an accreditation system and supplies a list of local locators with every Telstra plan. But things still go wrong.

In February 2014 major damage was done to Telstra’s international and interstate optical fibre network. The damage occurred in a public area in a suburb of Sydney.

All the people associated with this project including contract managers, architects, contractors and subcontractors appear to have assumed that no major networks could be located on this site.

Had even a basic investigation been performed, major communications, electricity and water networks would have been discovered.

Any competent locator should have been able to interpret the information on utility plans and locate the networks in the area.

GETTING LOCATORS ON-SITE

The different DBYD associations around Australia have been thinking about ways of encouraging the use of locators on excavations.

The aim is to develop systems and improve skills in the locating industry so there are fewer avoidable damages like the one in Sydney.

In December 2014 DBYD in New South Wales announced the creation of a Steering Committee of utilities, locators and other industry partners. The Committee will set standards for the location of utility networks.

The accreditation scheme will be managed by the Civil Contractors Federation in New South Wales.

In late 2014 DBYD in Queensland also announced the creation of a training course for locators. The course is designed to improve the skills of locators in Queensland.

The Queensland course is intended to be operational in 2015.

Both systems will be designed to improve the skills of locators and make it easier for excavators to engage a qualified locator.

MISCONCEPTIONS IN UTILITY LOCATING

While utility locating is certainly not a new industry, many misconceptions remain about what can be achieved with the tools in a locator’s toolbox.

The term ‘pipe and cable locating’ is a bit of a misconception for starters. An electromagnetic field (EMF) locator does not locate pipe and cables. It detects an electromagnetic field as it transitions along a metallic pipe or cable. The electromagnetic field is then located by the receiver.

Locators will know that other contractors on site will think that with a wave of an EMF receiver, any assets will be magically located. The reality is, there are limitations for EMF locators, just as there are for ground penetrating radar (GPR) locators.

By now, most people are aware that service locating devices exist, but there is still limited knowledge on construction sites as to what equipment or method is required to locate specific types of pipe material.

EMF is the essential tool in a locator’s truck. It works in a more diverse range of ground conditions; it has the ability to trace target lines and is generally easier and faster to learn the basic principles of use, and when and how it can be used. The drawback is that it relies on the service being metallic, having undamaged metallic trace wires or the service needs to be accessible to insert a traceable rod to locate. It does not locate direct buried optic fibre or non-metallic pipes such as PVC or nylon without having a trace wire.

GPR is used for mapping or locating non-metallic pipes and underground storage tanks. GPR transmits a small electromagnetic wave through an antenna and then a pipe or cable reflects energy back to the ground surface and received by the antenna. The depth and resolution of the target is related to

antenna frequency, power transmitter and the dielectric of the ground. In layman’s terms – GPR’s effectiveness is highly reliant on ground conditions due to the electrical conductivity of the ground or water and clay content.

However there still remains a belief that a service locator’s GPR can show a perfect skeleton buried in a grave. The reality is that GPR does not show a perfectly formed pipe on the screen –in a good scan it will show a hyperbola. They cannot tell you the size or material of a pipe or cable or what service is within that pipe. The only thing to do is pothole to verify and record what you find. GPR is an excellent tool to be used in conjunction with EMF.

ON-SITE LOCATIONS

Quite often on site you’ll hear complaints along the line of “The previous locator didn’t locate all the services so we are trying someone else”. It’s obvious that no locator would go to site and intentionally miss locating a service; but there are things locators and clients can do to minimise missed services.

Have all plans of the site available for the locator. Dial Before You Dig (DBYD) is the essential first step for acquiring plans, even when working on private property. These need to be up to date for each asset and printed to a legible size or viewed on iPad or larger screen. Sight the DBYD referral/ job number sheet to confirm all the plans from each asset owner are there. Remember that asset owner plans are indicative only – in the real world the cable or pipe indicated on the plan may actually be on the opposite side of the road. You may also need to get plans of

water and sewer assets from councils who are not members of DBYD. If you are working on private property – are they able to supply any as-built plans or sketches of services for the site from previous works? All of these are going to help the locator identify services and improve efficiency on the job. It is much quicker and more thorough than just doing a blind scan of your site. Consider whether asset owners will locate their own services. This varies state to state but Telstra has an accredited plant locator system which authorises contractors to access and locate their network. Not all contractors are authorised to locate the optic fibre, they may just be copper accredited. Other communication asset owners and high pressure gas pipes may require their own staff to locate the service, and you will need to check each asset owner’s duty of care to confirm this. This may also be an additional cost.

Consider any visible features indicating there is a service in the area. Quite often as a locator you encounter the issue of marker posts being removed from the original position because they were knocked over or deliberately removed by a third party, making it extremely difficult to locate optic fibre that may be direct buried, have no trace wire, no transponder or have large distances between pits. If there are no plans to indicate a service in the area and no visible features, it is quite easy to not locate a service upon electronic inspection (both EMF and GPR). The probability of a missed service is higher if the service is non-metallic. Understand

wires.

Comments such as “It is laid with a trace wire so you should be able to locate it” are commonly heard on site. For a trace wire to be located effectively, the locator should directly connect to the wire. Hopefully the trace wire has been brought to the ground surface, such as at a meter, valve box or into a pit. A trace wire not accessible for connection may result in the inability to locate a target line, especially in a service-congested area or if laid at a substantial depth. When using EMF induction method at ground level in a service-congested area such as a footpath, there is a good chance the target line won’t be located because the signal will be mutually inducted onto other targets such as metallic water pipes, electrical and copper communications cables, Armco railings and temporary fencing. This can also happen when connected to the trace wire, and it is vital for the locator to check their current measurements.

Search outside the specified zone. Another complaint from site is “What are they doing locating over there,

I only want this section searched”. The locator may need to connect to a service feature (tap, meter, pit) outside of the search area to trace it running through the specified area, or verify that it does not enter the work zone. Sometimes with GPR, a locator may need to follow the line from a hydrant to ensure they are tracing the desired target within the work zone. Regularly with GPR, it might not be possible to locate the service within the work zone, but it can be seen on either side of it – thus helping to determine an appropriate area to pothole to verify the position of the service.

Understand AS5488-2013.

The utility locating standard states that if Quality Level B information is compiled using electronic detection, it is only an indication of the existence of subsurface utilities and does not validate the utility subsurface location or attributes. A Quality Level B location has to be within + or – 300mm horizontally (relative spatial position) and within + or – 500mm vertically (relative spatial position) of the service. There is quite a bit of room as a

tolerance from actual depth of the service. During construction, when the services are actually located and potholed, it may be found that the design may not be possible due to lack of clearance. Many additional construction costs can be avoided with locating, potholing and surveying at a design phase. If an approximate is good enough for the job then engage a locator, but if precision and service location is required, then pothole services and the services surveyed.

Quality assurance. The only way to prove the accuracy of a service location is to pothole and verify position and depth. As stated above there is a fair range of tolerance from where the service location mark is at ground level compared to where the actual service may be.

There is certainly more that can be considered – but in short, clients and locating contractors need to work together to minimise the risk of service damage. More information can be obtained through the National Utility Locating Contractors Association. Visit www.nulca.com.au.

ARE YOU PURCHASING THE RIGHT PIPE & CABLE LOCATOR?

Being a trainer in the field of pipe and cable locating, Anthony Johnstone has seen a range of locators used in many applications - however, he finds that a lot of the locators purchased by companies are inadequate for the roles that are required of them.

Having the wrong locator can add to the risk of incorrectly locating underground services. This can cause damage and interruption, costs to business, and there is even the potential for loss of life.

So is a single active frequency PEAK-only locator (like a Cat & Genny, C-Scope, Digi Cat or Rycom CAP, to name a few) adequate enough to locate the range of services you may come across accurately? In a word, no. Originally these locators, which were commonly referred to as cable avoidance products or tools, were designed for basic asset location –which they were absolutely fantastic at doing. They are simple to use and do not require a lot of training.

So who should purchase this type of locator? Water authorities and councils who are only required to locate simple services, such as water pipes or isolated utilities in non-congested areas which are easily connected to. Keep in mind that some asset owners require you to be trained to locate their networks, so even opening a pit can cause you to become liable or face hefty fines.

So what type of machine would be best suited to an NBN contractor or a council that has operators who are certified to locate Telstra, or a person looking at moving into locating? Definitely not the above locators. Why? Because single active frequency PEAKonly locators do not have the flexibility required to locate the varied assets, and deal with the many challenges an operator may come across from day-to-day.

An example that comes to mind is the small two pair telephone cable leading from the pit into a house, a common challenge a locating contractor may face. These small two pairs are not normally earthed at the house. So basing this on the theory of locating, a signal will travel along the service you have connected to, then return via the ground back to the transmitter, either through the earth-stake (direct connect) or through the ground to a far end earth (using an induction clamp). As mentioned earlier, because the near end is not earthed, the signal in theory will not have a path to return, so you will normally be unable to locate the service. A locator overcomes this problem by having higher frequencies (65kHz or above). Higher frequencies allow the signal to jump off a cable more readily (although this can also be a disadvantage). I will not go into the theory of capacitance and inductance, which is a key factor in how you can locate these types of cables, but in short this allows the cable to create an earth return in a very short cable run, allowing you to locate in these situations. It is also a similar situation when using the small traceable rods that an NBN contractor may use to locate conduits leading into the home.

Having more than one transmitter frequency is just one part of purchasing the right locator. Other important functions that a professional locator has is the use of null antennas and current measurement.

Having a null antenna allows you to determine if you have a clean magnetic field (round field) or a distorted field (elongated field). It assists by notifying

the operator there is something wrong with your locate, and that your locate position may be incorrect, or worse still, tracing a different service to the one you originally connected to.

Current measurement is another function in your locator which helps determine if you are on a ghost (mutually induced) signal or on your original target signal. Having these extra functions gives the operator the confidence to locate more accurately and, more importantly, notify the person who is excavating in the area if there are any problems.

To the readers who are a bit confused by the different terms that have been discussed in this article, or who are looking at moving into locating for a contract or a career, my first suggestion is join an association that is linked to the industry. The National Utility Locating Contractors Association (NULCA) is a good start. NULCA is the only association dedicated to improving the industry through education, advice and other members benefits. The association is made up of very experienced companies that offer complete locating and mapping solutions.

The second part of becoming a locator is education. Education is the key to reducing the risk in hitting services, which in the end, reduces your costs in insurance and your own downtime. NULCA is one of the very few associations that offer training through registered training organisations that specialise in the pipe and cable locating fields, and all the trainers have had at least ten years infield experience.

KEY CONSIDERATIONS

When purchasing a utility locator, I suggest the following functions as a minimum:

• Peak and null modes

• Multiple frequencies in the low, medium and high frequency ranges

• Current measurement

• Manual or semi-automatic gain control (not automatic gain).

There are of course other specialists modes on more sophisticated units, and the more you spend on a locator, the more functions become available to you, including features like transmitter to receiver communications, current/ target direction and fault location.

Companies to look for when purchasing equipment should be longstanding manufacturers who have been in the industry for a long time. Rycom and Radiodetection are just a few who have been manufacturing for over 60 years, and there are many more.

THERE ARE A RANGE OF FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING UTILITY LOCATING EQUIPMENT.

Access Detection also offers theory, and more importantly, practical training on locating equipment, and can also give advice on what type of locator

would best suit your needs. Visit www.accessdetection.com.au for more information.

INDUSTRIAL VALVE POWER INDUSTRY FORECAST

The power industry is one of the largest markets for industrial valves worldwide and demand for these valves continues to grow steadily. The recently released report ‘Global Industrial Valves Market in Power Industry’ by TechNavio provides an overview of the industrial valve market in the power industry and forecasts significant growth areas, demand drivers, market trends and challenges to 2018.

According to the new report, industrial valves are used for a variety of applications within the power industry to control, direct, and regulate the flow and pressure of gases, liquids, and fluidised solids. Depending on application, electrically, pneumatically, or hydraulically operated valves may be used.

The main types of industrial valves used in the power industry include globe valves, gate valves, butterfly valves, ball valves, and industrial plug valves.

Together, these five products types accounted for 87 per cent of the global industrial valves market in the power industry in 2013 and are expected to account for a similar level in 2018.

The report found that the global industrial valves market in the power industry is one of the more steadily growing engineering markets. This market is dominated by the Americas, followed by the Asia Pacific (APAC) region and the Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region.

In 2013, the Americas accounted for 41 per cent of the market, the APAC region for 31 per cent and the EMEA region for the remaining 28 per cent.

In the period to 2018, the market in the Americas is expected to grow at a rate of 3.8 per cent. While it will still be the largest market, its growth is expected to be slightly slower than that of the other two regions studied. Over the same period, the APAC market is expected to grow at a rate of 4.6 per cent, and the EMEA market is expected to grow at a rate of 4.2 per cent.

Worldwide, the market for industrial

valves in the power industry is expected to grow at a steady rate over the period 2014-2018, posting a rate of 4.2 per cent.

DRIVERS TO MARKET GROWTH

The global industrial valves market in the power industry has many growth drivers.

The key drivers identified as underlying the forecast growth up to 2018 included increased demand of industrial valves for gas turbines, growing demand of industrial valves from replacement activities, and an increase in investment in renewable energy sources.

These increases in demand will be due to growing industrialisation and rapid infrastructure development across the globe (and especially in developing countries), resulting in higher electricity demand and increases in power generation.

THE CHALLENGES OF A COMPETITIVE MARKET

Although the global industrial valves market in the power industry is witnessing a steady growth rate, it still faces some serious challenges.

These include lack of effective product differentiation, the need to comply with stringent government regulations, and an increased price war among vendors.

TRENDS IN THE INDUSTRIAL VALVE MARKET

The global industrial valves market in the power industry is witnessing

several emerging trends that are expected to continue throughout the forecast period.

Key market trends include an increase in outsourcing of manufacturing activities to the APAC region, a steady transition from conventional valves to electrically actuated industrial valves, and increased numbers of mergers and acquisitions throughout the industry.

WHAT WILL CUSTOMERS BASE BUYING DECISIONS ON?

In order for companies to survive in an increasingly competitive market, they must adapt their products and services to match what buyers are basing their product choices on.

Key buying criteria throughout the forecast period include customisation, maintenance and support, reliability and total cost of ownership.

THE YEARS AHEAD

The period between 2014-2018 will continue to be an exciting yet challenging time for vendors of industrial valves for the power industry. Those who make the most of the forecast market growth will be those who keep a close eye on the market and their customers needs and adapt accordingly.

More detailed information on the market, including the overall market value, is available in the full report, ‘Global Industrial Valves Market in Power Industry’, which can be purchased from TechNavio. Visit www.technavio.com for more details.

VALVES KEEP SEWAGE IN CHECK

When Sydney Water began the process of upgrading the Quakers Hill Sewage Treatment Plant, AVK was the supplier of choice when it came to valves.

The Quakers Hill Sewage Treatment Plant is located north-west of Sydney. This plant is the second largest in Sydney and is responsible for 32 megalitres per day of tertiary treated effluent.

In August 2011, Sydney Water approved a $57 million upgrade to the facility to increase the output and to eliminate any overflows.

AVK Australia was pleased to be a supplier for the new pump station at Quakers Hill. AVK supplied 12 150mm AVK ball check valves to be attached to the 600mm inlet pipe manifold.

The extraordinary thing about these ball check valves is the way they are installed onto the manifold. The valves

are installed vertically so the valve will remove the air from the manifold at pump start-up, allowing the sewage fluid to flow into the treatment plant. This unusual application of AVK ball check valves was established by extensive consultation between AVK and the SewerFix Wet Weather Alliance to ensure the flow rates complied with Sydney Water’s increased flow requirements.

The AVK valve released the air at a velocity of 15m per second into the return pipeline storage tank location. The valves are able to remove all the air at pump start-up within 20 to 30 seconds. With pump start-up occurring 10 to 12 times over a 24-hour period, this was an important element to the successful operation of the plant.

The upgrade was completed in late 2013 and AVK was proud to be a part of this successful project.

WHEN YOU ARE LOOKING FOR QUALITY, SUPPORT, SOLUTIONS & SAVINGS....... LOOK FOR THE AVK LOGO

ABOUT AVK

AVK Australia is a quality endorsed company specialising in the manufacture of a wide range of valves and complimentary products. AVK is a proven supplier to markets such as water treatment, sewage processing, dams and reservoirs, HVAC, chemical processing, marine sectors and unconventional gas projects.

Part of the AVK Group, the company prides itself on being one of the world’s leading international valve manufacturers.

Their product program comprises a large range of valves, hydrants, pipe fittings and accessories, each complying with the highest standards of quality, safety and durability.

When you choose AVK, expect quality, expect service, expect savings and expect solutions.

For important infrastructure and civil work, you need to be sure that whatever products you use are of the best quality available but also at the lowest life-cycle cost. AVK not only has quality accreditation for a range of Australian & New Zealand Standard products but also has accreditation for company and environmental management systems.

So to reduce ongoing costs, minimise lost productivity and repairs, choose the product you know will perform every time. When you are looking for a proven supplier for quality valves and complimentary products, look for the AVK logo to ensure you are receiving the best on the market.

Expect quality, support, solutions and savings from AVK.

If you would like to visit our facility to view our world class operations and discover our product range, please contact us on (08) 8368 0900 or via www.avkvalves.com.au

AVK Australia Pty Ltd

559A Grand Junction Road

South Australia 5013

Tel: 08 8368 0900

Fax: 08 8368 0970

www.avkvalves.com.au

CONTROLLING THE RISK OF PIPELINE FAILURE

The recently released book, ‘Nightmare Pipeline Failures: Fantasy Planning, Black Swans and Integrity Management’, by Dr Jan Hayes and Professor Andrew Hopkins, explores two catastrophic pipeline failures in the US, and provides valuable lessons to asset owners worldwide to improve pipeline safety.

WHEN PIPELINES FAIL

In 2010, two catastrophic pipeline disasters occurred in the United States. A high-pressure natural gas pipeline running underneath the San Francisco suburb of San Bruno ruptured. The resulting explosion and fire killed eight people, injured many more and razed 38 homes. Earlier that year, an oil pipeline had ruptured near Marshall, Michigan, resulting in the largest and most expensive land-based oil spill in the country’s history.

The San Bruno disaster was found to have been the result of a number of causes. These included a faulty weld from 1956 that had gone undetected by the pipeline’s owner, PG&E, for more than 50 years. The actual trigger of the rupture was a sudden loss of pressure control in the pipeline due to electrical works, which caused an increase in pressure. The operators did not intervene because the increased pressure was within allowable limits. However, the pipeline’s maximum allowable operating pressure (MAOP) has been set too high due to legislation exempting it from integrity testing when determining the value.

The Marshall oil leak occurred because the pipeline’s operator, Enbridge, took an overly optimistic view of its integrity. While the line was known to have major cracks, the decision was taken not to excavate it for further visual inspection and repair. This decision was based on compliance with regulations, rather than on consideration of risk.

The circumstances that led to the San Bruno and Marshall disasters had existed for many years, and yet no one had acted to change them. Without dramatic evidence of a problem, it is

easy for organisations to fall into the trap of fantasy planning – thinking that graphs, algorithms and models are not simply an attempt to approximate reality but that they are reality. Challenging organisational complacency is difficult, but necessary if further catastrophes are to be avoided.

ORGANISATIONAL LESSONS

A number of key organisational lessons can be learned from these disasters. These major lessons must be taken on board by any organisation that is truly serious about reducing the chances of a major accident.

Latent failures and small incidents

The faulty weld that caused the San Bruno pipeline rupture was made more than five decades before the event occurred. PG&E repeatedly ignored clues that the state of the old pipeline needed to be investigated. Leaks were repaired and then forgotten. The faulty weld remained a ticking time bomb.

Latent defects like this in any system are hard to find, so any evidence of problems should be valued. Most organisations have a system in place whereby everyone is encouraged to report hazards and incidents. While such systems (usually administered by the safety department) provide a vehicle to ensure that small matters are dealt with in a timely manner, the best systems provide much broader benefits. Rather than simply being a database for action tracking, the individual incidents can be shared as stories to keep safety messages alive. This fosters the ‘safety imagination’ and helps people to link their daily work with the potential for disaster.

Regulatory compliance

Enbridge had direct evidence that

line 6B was likely to fail (in the form of multiple sets of inspection results indicating serious cracking) and yet the evidence was not acted on. Instead, the company used strict compliance with regulatory requirements to justify delays to expensive investigation and repair work. PG&E also adopted a strict compliance approach in determining the MAOP for line 132. In these cases, compliance was not enough to avoid disaster. Compliance with standards and regulations is important but, in itself, it is not enough to prevent accidents. A ‘compliance is enough’ mentality is a step on the road to a serious accident.

Procedural compliance

On the other hand, both accidents highlight the importance of procedural compliance. PG&E’s failure to comply with its own work clearance processes and the failure of Enbridge operators to comply with shutdown requirements contributed to the accidents. The procedures themselves were inadequate, but greater company efforts to ensure compliance could have revealed these inadequacies and led to procedural improvement.

Effective risk management

A commonly used safety decisionmaking tool is risk assessment. While assessment of the likelihood and impact of possible accidents is worth considering, problems arise when this information takes over and is seen to dictate, rather than contribute to, major safety decisions.

The first issue is that risk assessment can be used to prioritise spending to further reduce risk, rather than to reach a conclusion about whether any given situation is safe enough. Discussion about absolute risk is avoided and

replaced by language about ‘continuous improvement’. Continuous improvement is admirable, but only if risk is at an acceptable level to start with.

Another lesson from San Bruno and Marshall is that asset owners should be wary of fantasy planning. This is a warning that systems can take on a symbolic value that is detached from the originally intended use of the system, especially when divorced from any real-world feedback. Risk management is always problematic when the model itself becomes reality.

The final lesson for risk assessment from these pipeline disasters is this: don’t fall into the trap of thinking that ‘black swans’ (surprising and rare events with large impact) are beyond control and so no further effort in reducing risk is necessary or useful. Black swans are preventable, provided asset owners seek out a diversity of views about the current state of risk controls and what more can be done. All major accident investigations identify precursors and warning signs.

Awareness of responsibility for public safety

People across organisations often fail to understand how their day-to-day activities impact the safety of the general public. Any organisation that wants an excellent safety record must understand that preventing workers from being injured while undertaking normal tasks requires different strategies to preventing rare but catastrophic events. Both are important, but managing them requires different strategies. With process safety in particular, the absence of major incidents is not a sufficient indicator that all is well. These types of accidents have multiple controls

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

in place to prevent them. The system can be heavily degraded without any observable change in outcome – until that last line of defence fails and with it comes catastrophe.

Analysis of the organisational causes behind individual incidents can provide important information about vulnerabilities that may contribute to a major disaster. The key lessons from the two disasters discussed are vital to any asset owner who wants to take a realistic and responsible approach to safety and pipeline integrity.

Nightmare Pipeline Failures: Fantasy Planning, Black Swans and Integrity Management is available from CCH Australia. Visit www.cchbooks.com.au.

Dr Jan Hayes is an Associate Professor at RMIT University. She has 30 years’ experience in safety and risk management. She is Program Leader for the social science research activities of the EPCRC and is a member of the Advisory Board of NOPSEMA. Professor Andrew Hopkins is an internationally renowned presenter, author and consultant in industrial safety and accident analysis. Professor Hopkins has been involved in various government OH&S reviews and completed consultancy work for major companies in the resources sector.

TEN TIMES more lifts.

HALF the man hours.

Work faster, safer, smarter with Vacuworx Lifting Systems.

For over 15 years Vacuworx has been manufacturing the safest, most efficient lifting equipment for heavy-duty pipe, plate, slab, concrete barriers, and HDD drill stem.

• Full inventory available for immediate purchase or rental in Brisabane.

• Quick-coupler available for attachment versatility.

• Faster load and unload cycles means less downtime for your workers.

• Parts, service, and technical support available 24/7 365 days a year. Visit vacuworx.com or contact our Brisbane office for information.

LEADING BY EXAMPLE: SAFETY FIRST AT FYFE

Safety is increasingly being recognised as a key pillar in helping utilities and the businesses that work with them to deliver their end goals. Mark Dayman, Managing Director of Fyfe, talks about the importance his organisation places on the safety of its staff.

Fyfe is a well-established land, resource and infrastructure development consultancy, specialising in comprehensive engineering, planning and surveying services for Australia’s land development, energy, mining and oil and gas industries.

Fyfe operates throughout Australia with offices in Adelaide, Brisbane and Darwin, as well as regional offices throughout Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

Fyfe has achieved ISO 9001:2008 Quality management systems accreditation, which has been maintained since 1994. In addition, safety is a major criterion for Fyfe’s staff performance, both on site and off site, and is reflected in an exemplary safety record.

PRIORITIES IN ORDER

According to Fyfe Managing Director Mark Dayman, safety is paramount for the organisation. At any one time, a large percentage of Fyfe’s 500-strong workforce, including surveyors, field assistants, engineers, drafters, environmental scientists and ecologists is working on major infrastructure projects in some of Australia’s harshest conditions.

As a result of their commitment to safety, Fyfe was recently recognised with Australia’s top pipeline industry safety award.

The award, presented at the Australian Pipeline Industry Association’s (APIA) annual convention, recognises Fyfe’s robust safety system

and the performance of its staff. It’s the first time the highly competitive award has been won by a consultancy.

“This award is widely regarded within the industry and has previously been won by some of the largest pipeline owners and contractors in the country,” said Mr Dayman.

“It’s a great vote of confidence in the stringent safety procedures, training and reporting systems we have in place at Fyfe.

“Our workforce operates in remote regions on major pipeline projects. Our safety system helps mitigate the risks in working in varying conditions such as extreme heat, flooding or where large equipment is in use.

“The safety of all our staff is our top priority – it cannot be compromised.”

MINIMISING DOWNTIME

For nine of the past ten years, Fyfe has reported a lost time incident frequency rate (LTIFR) of zero.

During the past three years, Fyfe has been involved with the installation and maintenance of pipelines and facilities in the Cooper Basin, Kenya, Roma, Brisbane, Darwin and Longford.

Fyfe employees have spent in excess of 200,000 hours per year in the field with minimal injuries or illness.

In bestowing the APIA award, the judges commended Fyfe for having a consistently excellent safety performance across the whole company, driven by a strong safety culture developed by the Fyfe leadership.

APIA Immediate Past President Kevin Lester, who presented the award, noted that the five nominations for the 2014 award were rigorously considered by an APIA committee comprising independent professionals, which included State regulation experience. The committee noted the quality of nominations for the year.

Mr Lester said the committee selected Fyfe’s Overall Safety Performance based on consistently excellent safety performance achieved by a strong behavioural-based safety culture and proactive approach to identifying and mitigating risks evident across the whole team, but driven by the leadership.

On receiving the award, Mr Dayman said, “We are proud of our strong safety record but always looking at ways to improve. This involves working closely with our staff to continuously identify ways in which we can work safer.

“At Fyfe we understand the importance of building and nurturing a strong team,” said Mr Dayman. “To this end we look to employ the very best personnel who are each individually trained by Fyfe and supported by the latest technology and in-house systems.

“Management at Fyfe knows how to organise large projects and has experienced staff to deliver an accurate, safe and efficient product. We continually seek innovative ideas and technology that not only meets our clients’ needs, but does so in a cost effective and sustainable way.”

KEEPING REMOTE WORKERS SAFE

Keeping remote workers safe and addressing duty

of care requirements are critical concerns for utilities, as more than ever, staff are working in remote areas where there are no mobile or radio networks.

Managing worker safety in remote areas can be costly and difficult, and operators are under growing pressure to improve efficiency while maintaining their focus on worker health and safety.

Satellite communications company Pivotel has recognised the OH&S requirements of utilities and in response has developed Tracertrak, an exceptional management and remote worker monitoring system. Tracertrak uses handheld satellite communication devices like the SPOT GPS Messenger or inReach 2-way Satellite Communicator.

Tracertrak automatically monitors for scheduled worker check-ins, also known as skeds, and if a scheduled check-in is missed Tracertrak will automatically send an alert to the safety administrator, removing the need for expensive, manned check-in desks. Remote workers can also raise an SOS alarm including a GPS location in the event of an emergency, so the safety team can raise an appropriate response.

“Tracertrak operates using satellite networks, meaning no

PIVOTEL’S TRACERTRAK OFFERS A LOW-COST, HIGH-FUNCTION SAFETY SOLUTION FOR REMOTE WORKERS.

mobile black spots, so remote workers can check in, send emergency messages or communicate via messaging with head office wherever they are,” said Pivotel CEO Peter Bolger.

“Head office can use the online Tracertrak portal to monitor remote worker safety in the field – Tracertrak will alert them to any missed check-ins or SOS messages, and can also be used with optional worker tracking to provide a last-known location, an extremely valuable feature when workers fail to check in or return on time.”

For more information on Tracertrak, visit www.pivotel.com.au.

MAINTAINING A RELIABLE NETWORK

In the Northern Territory, Power and Water Corporation is currently undertaking an intensive repair and maintenance program designed to improve the reliability of the electricity network and increase operational flexibility.

The works include construction of a new indoor switchroom in Tennant Creek, and the replacement of a 132kV circuit breaker at the Pine Creek switchyard.

THE GREAT INDOORS

The new indoor switchroom at Tennant Creek will house safer and more reliable 22kV switchgear replacing the aged outdoor 22kV switchyard.

Having an indoor switchroom means that the equipment is protected from dust, weather conditions and bird strikes, which are particular issues in Tennant Creek.

The switchgears are essentially circuit breakers that will operate to clear faults on the overhead line feeders. The new indoor switchroom project was initiated in 2013 and the overall investment at its completion is estimated at $4.76 million.

According to General Manager of Power Networks, John Greenwood, “This important project is part of Power and Water’s ongoing commitment to improving the security and reliability of the electricity network in regional areas.

“The switchroom is being constructed by specialist contractors offsite and will be delivered to Darwin initially, where it will undergo intensive testing. Local contractors are being engaged to complete the initial civil works.

“Other upgrades already completed include the automation of the Ali Curung Line Feeder 2, replacement of old high voltage pot heads and the fitting of bird protection devices aimed at reducing bird strikes on key infrastructure.”

Following the testing phase, the building will be transported to Tennant

Creek in early 2015 and installed and commissioned by August 2015.

CIRCUIT BREAKER ENERGISED AND IN SERVICE

At the Pine Creek switchyard, replacement of a 132kV circuit breaker was successfully completed and in service on time and on budget.

The clearly defined project timeline was met with a day to spare.

“The process of replacing, testing and returning circuit breakers to full service always creates some fragility

in the power network,” said Power and Water’s A/General Manager Power Networks Paul Ascione.

“However Power and Water had developed comprehensive contingency plans and our technicians were able to complete the project without any power interruptions to customers.”

For the duration of the circuit breaker replacement works, the Katherine/Pine Creek network was supplied from the Katherine Power Station, operating independently of the Darwin network.

STRUGGLING WITH NUISANCE TRIPS?

Most people think that their residual current circuit breaker with overload protection (RCBO) trips out because the circuit is either overloaded or incorrectly rated. This is often not the case, as ambient temperature plays a key part in how a normal thermal residual current device (RCD)/RCBO operates.

Most RCD/RCBOs operate on a thermal residual current system which is affected by ambient temperature. This causes the internal mechanism to overheat and then trip out, even though the load isn’t more than the rating. These cause onerous callouts which are not only expensive but also irritating to your customer.

The hydraulic magnetic technology of CBI Electric RCBOs and breakers mean that ambient temperature isn’t a factor. They only measure the true load of the circuit, so if you have to send either a

staff electrician or a subcontractor to site, you know there is actually a fault.

This means that when evaluating power outages against KPIs, the data you are analysing is accurate. The pole mounted enclosure can accommodate CBI Electric’s range of SFM breakers and SF1EL RCBOs in configurations to provide flexibility and safety to the power authority and the consumer.

CBI Electric Australia also has a range of weatherproof enclosures in varying materials to allow the isolation of power without crossing the boundary into the consumer’s premises.

ABOUT CBI ELECTRIC: AUSTRALIA

Heinemann Electric Pty Ltd, trading as CBI Electric: Australia, is a supplier of quality low-voltage protection equipment, power and distribution boards, motor control centres and a range of electrical installation products. Established in

Australia in 1959, CBI Electric: Australia is known for the SF range of circuit breakers and RCBOs, which are recognised in the mining, industrial and power sectors as being robust and reliable.

CBI Electric: Australia provides trusted, durable and reliable products for the protection and control of low-voltage electrical installations. They design and supply electrical main switchboards up to 3,200 amps, distribution boards with associated switchgear using hydraulic magnetic technology. Load centres, temporary site switchboards and pole mounted enclosures complete the range, allowing CBI Electric: Australia to be a valuable partner on any project, whether large or small.

CBI Electric: Australia is well regarded in the industry for providing excellent service, high quality products and fully supported projects.

The CBI Pole Mounting Box

> Accepts up to three single poles, below 100A, or one single pole above 100A, or one triple pole SF circuit breaker (not supplied)

> Up to three operating slides can be fitted for independent circuit breaker operation.

> Orange slides visible from street level

> Oval design allows more space for wiring

> Slide can be operated with a hooked rod or linkstick from the ground

> Convenient mounting methods for pole, cross arm or under insulator

REGULATIONS ON

IN AUSTRALIA

In 2015 electricity network service providers in Australia will be required to meet new economic benchmarking requirements set by the Australian Energy Regulator. The economic benchmarking will require that network service providers report additional information on the vegetation management activities that occur on their networks.

By undertaking economic benchmarking, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) hopes to determine a network service providers (NSPs) efficient level of expenditure on activities including vegetation management, which can vary depending on the operating environment of each network.

WHAT CHANGES ARE COMING?

To get a better understanding of the extent of vegetation management activities across the networks for benchmarking purposes, the AER has changed the number of management variables to be reported on to now include:

• The number of vegetation maintenance spans and the total number of spans

• Average vegetation maintenance span cycle

• Average number of trees per vegetation management span

• Average number of defects per vegetation management span

• Tropical proportion

• Bushfire risk.

What this means is that an NSP must now find ways to report on actual metrics, such as the number of trees per vegetation management span as described above, or provide estimates using various methods acceptable to the AER.

Providing the AER with this data is critical for the NSPs because the data will be used to set revenues for the next regulatory period, which concludes in 2015 in Victoria, Tasmania, Queensland and South Australia. Given that the industry has traditionally outsourced vegetation management to external contractors, the data the AER is seeking will usually only be found in contractor IT systems, if it exists at all. Getting access to contractor data and validating its correctness, as well as augmenting existing data to meet the new AER requirements, is expected to prove very challenging and expensive for most Australian NSPs.

To take the average number of trees per vegetation management span as an example, the AER requires NSPs to only include trees that require active vegetation management, i.e. trees that only require

inspections and do not require other vegetation management efforts are specifically excluded from the report to the regulator. While contractor timesheets may hold this information, accessing it is expected to be very time consuming for NSPs unless contractors have had the foresight to routinely enter this information into an electronic database. Validating that this data is actually correct is another headache that vegetation managers will be faced with.

Additionally, the AER will require information on

expenditures, including costs associated with:

• Hazard tree clearance

• Ground clearance

• Vegetation inspections

• Vegetation audits

• Access track maintenance.

One option that utilities have is to provide a vegetation management system for their contractors to use. This is the approach that AusNet Services took 15 years ago when it deployed the GT FMC platform from Geomatic

Technologies (GT) to give it full control of vegetation management activities across its network.

The GT FMC Vegetation Management Solution (VMS) helps utilities oversee all aspects of vegetation management with a technology solution that meets current and proposed AER reporting requirements.

VMS contains specific workflows and business rules to ensure that the right data is captured in the field by contractors and at a high enough quality to give vegetation managers the peace of mind that AER reporting requirements are being met.

By splitting out key stages in the vegetation management life cycle (e.g. assessments from cutting), NSPs can seek cost efficiencies through better cost control and forecasting. By incorporating a technology solution into vegetation management, NSPs have the flexibility to change out contractors while retaining ownership and control of the vegetation management data.

David Crook, Manager Vegetation & Easements for Select Solutions, a division of AusNet Services, said “The current workflow generated by the business rules in VMS

ABOUT GT

is considered a major plus. The solution provides flexibility in extracting data required to meet both business reporting and regulatory requirements.”

CONCLUSION

The AER has changed the number of management variables to be reported on in relation to vegetation management activities. Vegetation managers must now look at how they can generate this information in a timely and cost-effective manner on their networks in order to consistently meet regulatory compliance. With information usually only residing with contractors, it is time for NSPs to reassess current practices on acquiring and maintaining accurate vegetation management data. By utilising technology solutions such as VMS, vegetation managers can ensure that the right data is being collected by their vegetation management contractors and that this data will be available to them even if they decide to switch contractors or split the vegetation management process into smaller pieces of work to achieve greater cost control.

Founded in 1994 with a strong background in surveying sciences, Geomatic Technologies (GT) has a long and successful track record in the application of advanced technologies to make complex utility assets easier to understand and manage. GT is an AusNet Services owned company.

MULTI-TECHNOLOGY NBN DEPLOYING A

Since

the transition to a multi-technology National Broadband Network was announced, there has been much speculation over which specific technology will be deployed to which areas. The final answer to that question may be a step nearer, with the release of the NBN Multi-Technology Deployment Principles and NBN Co’s rollout forecast for December 2014 to June 2016.

DECIDING WHICH TECHNOLOGY GOES WHERE

Fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP), fibre-to-the-node (FTTN), fibre-to-thebasement (FTTB), hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC), wireless and satellite broadband are all likely to play a role in the multitechnology mix NBN.

The NBN Multi-Technology Deployment Principles govern how NBN Co determines which technology is used to connect premises to the National Broadband Network.

The choice of technology will be made on an area-by-area basis, prioritising the minimisation of peak funding, maximising economic returns and enhancing the company’s viability.

Areas identified as poorly served by the Broadband Availability and Quality Report will also be prioritised for connection ‘to the extent commercially and operationally feasible’.

For each service area NBN Co will consider whether:

ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL PREMISES COVERED BY JUNE 2016

Queensland: 379,000

Tasmania: 106,000

New South Wales: 659,000

Northern Territory: 25,000

South Australia: 161,000

• Existing infrastructure can be leveraged to deliver the required bandwidth and reliability to premises.

• Delivery partners have available construction capacity. Sequencing needs to be matched to construction capacity in particular areas with a preference for a contiguous work front.

• Network complexity can be reduced by consistent use of technologies within a particular area. Advances in technology may mean an alternative approach may be preferable.

NBN Co will also consider:

• Opportunities to prioritise under-serviced areas.

• Opportunities to achieve early/high revenue (e.g. from areas with a large number of business customers).

NBN Co states that this approach means that for most households and businesses:

• Areas already served by the Optus or Telstra Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) cable networks will most likely receive fast broadband over an upgraded HFC network.

Western Australia: 240,000

Victoria: 286,000

ACT: 57,000

National total: 1,913,000

• Areas where FTTP has been deployed or is in advanced stages of construction are likely to remain part of the FTTP rollout.

• Areas earmarked for NBN fixed wireless or satellite networks will remain part of the fixed wireless and satellite rollout plan.

• All other areas are likely to receive FTTN deployment, or, in the case of multi-dwelling units such as apartment blocks, FTTB.

The company states that these principles will be regularly updated and amended as required.

NBN Co is also required to inform the public of the business rules it establishes to determine which technology is used in each locality, and regularly update this information to reflect technological and commercial developments.

FORECASTING THE FUTURE OF THE NBN

NBN Co’s new national rollout plan details the construction work scheduled to take place during the 18 months from December 2014 to June 2016. This forecast is provided as an indicative view of the rollout, which will be updated each quarter to reflect any changes.

The rollout plan outlines the first premises to be passed using the multitechnology approach governed by the multi-technology deployment principles as each technology product becomes available.

ROLLOUT PROGRESS - DECEMBER 2014

Queensland: 154,518 covered; 61,513 activated

Tasmania: 65,871 covered; 26,934 activated

New South Wales: 206,117 covered; 92,692 activated

Northern Territory: 25,404 covered; 5,776 activated

South Australia: 28,852 covered; 11,010 activated

Western Australia: 61,503 covered; 24,431 activated

Victoria: 177,972 covered; 71,641 activated ACT: 33,024 covered; 15,565 activated

National total: 753,261 covered; 309,562 activated

NBN Co’s most recent corporate plan suggests that the company’s FTTB product will be ready to connect apartment buildings sometime in the first quarter of 2015 and the FTTN product will be ready in the third quarter of 2015.

All in all, the forecast suggests that a further 1.9 million premises will be connected by the end of the 18-month period, towards the ultimate goal of eight million connections to the NBN by 2020.

The company also hopes to connect premises using upgraded HFC cable connections during 2015, now that they have finalised negotiations with Optus

and Telstra for access to their HFC networks.

As a result of ongoing negotiations at the time, these premises were not covered in the forecast. However, now that the $11 billion Telstra and the $800 million Optus deals have been finalised, the expected number of premises passed by the June 2016 date could be significantly higher.

The agreement will see the telcos gradually hand over ownership of copper and HFC networks to NBN Co, a vital step in order for FTTN and HFC connections to be incorporated into the multi-technology rollout. NBN Co will then be responsible for the remediation

and upkeep of these networks to ensure they are fit for purpose.

The announcements of the national rollout plan and the deployment principles that will govern it, in addition to the deals allowing NBN Co to access the HFC and copper networks, brings the public a little closer to being able to determine the final shape of the network. It may also provide NBN construction partners an indication of how their work may change when the new FTTN and FTTB rollout products are released. Meanwhile, trials of HFC and FTTN rollout methods continue.

COST-REFLECTIVE PRICING: GIVING CONSUMERS THE POWER OF CHOICE

The Australian Energy Market Commission has released the final determination on distribution network pricing arrangements, setting out a number of reforms to the National Energy Market (NEM) at both state and federal levels as part of the Power of Choice reforms.

This will be achieved through an incentive-based network regulation framework that rewards customers for behaviour that helps the network deal with peak demand, a key driver of network costs. The transition from flat-rate to cost-reflective network tariffs will enable flexible pricing options and reduce cross-subsidies where network customers who use electricity off-peak, when it contributes less to network costs, subsidise those who use electricity at times of peak demand.

Greater transparency regarding the way network prices are set and the effects of consumer behaviour on electricity bills, will also allow consumers to more easily observe the effects of their energy use choices and, where possible, to adjust the patterns of their consumption.

EXTENSIVE INDUSTRY CONSULTATION

The draft determination for distribution network pricing

agreements was released in August 2014 for stakeholder feedback.

During the resulting submission period, the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) received 35 submissions from various industry stakeholders and also held a public forum and two workshops with distribution businesses and consumer groups focusing on specific aspects of the draft rule.

The final rule determination was formulated taking this feedback into account and incorporates some of the suggestions made.

WHAT DO THE CHANGES MEAN?

The final determination doesn’t directly set network prices, instead it sets out a number of principles that distribution businesses must comply with when determining network pricing.

From 1 December 2014, when the rule changes were released, network businesses were expected to begin consulting on new tariff structures, and

they have until late 2015 to submit their draft proposals to the Australian Energy Regulator (AER).

The reforms require businesses to submit a plan that considers the impacts of price changes on consumers, and outline their strategies for enhanced transparency, consumer consultation in pricing and how they will transition their customers onto the new pricing structures. The new prices should come into effect by 2017.

NEW PRICING PRINCIPLES

Distribution businesses must comply with the following new pricing principles:

• Each network tariff must be based on the long-run marginal cost of providing the service.

• The revenue recovered from each network tariff must reflect the network business’s total efficient costs of providing services to the consumers assigned to that tariff, in a way that minimises distortions to

price signals.

• Distribution businesses must develop their tariffs in line with a new consumer impact principle.

• Network tariffs must also comply with any jurisdictional pricing obligations imposed by state or territory governments. For example, several states have statewide uniform pricing requirements.

PREVENTING CROSS-SUBSIDIES AND CONFLICT BETWEEN PRINCIPLES

The final determination also retains the existing pricing principle that is designed to avoid cross-subsidies between different classes of consumers, for example residential and business consumers. This requires the revenue expected to be recovered from a tariff class to lie between the stand-alone cost of providing the service to the relevant consumers and the avoidable cost of not providing the service. The existing side constraints, which limit annual price movements within a tariff class, are also retained.

Additionally, it clarifies how the pricing objective and principles work together. Network businesses must comply with the pricing principles in a way that contributes to the pricing objective. If there is a conflict between the principles, the final rule specifies the order of priority and the extent of a business’s ability to depart from one of the principles to resolve that conflict. Distribution businesses may depart from the cost-reflectivity principles to the extent necessary to comply with the consumer impact and jurisdictional obligations principles. In cases where this occurs, the business must explain the reason for any such departures in a clear and transparent manner.

A REFORMED TARIFF SETTING PROCESS

The final rule also amends the process and timeframes for setting network prices and requires distribution businesses to demonstrate to the AER how they have consulted with

consumers and retailers in developing their price structures.

Network prices must be set in a more transparent fashion according to a two-stage process:

• The first stage involves the development, consultation on and approval of the business’s Tariff Structure Statement (TSS) for the five-year regulatory period, which demonstrates how it has applied the pricing principles. This statement will be assessed by the AER for compliance with the pricing principles at the same time that it assesses the business’s revenue proposal.

• The second stage occurs each year. In this stage, the distribution business will develop its annual price levels based on the already approved price structures. The AER will check the annual prices for compliance with the TSS, pricing principles and other rule requirements, such as the control mechanism under the business’s distribution determination.

The timeframes for the annual pricing process have also been amended so that final network prices are notified to consumers and retailers at least six weeks before they commence.

THE OUTCOMES OF ENHANCED CONSUMER CHOICE

The changes to the National Energy Rules are expected to result in a variety of benefits for electricity consumers and for distribution businesses looking to deal with peak demand.

AEMC Chairman John Pierce said that the “changes put consumers at the centre of future decision-making about energy”.

The precise impact that the final rules will have on individual consumers will depend on the types of price structures developed by distribution businesses, the consumer’s load profile and the value the consumer places on using energy at different times.

Research undertaken by NERA and HoustonKemp for the Commission suggests that in the long-term network prices are likely to be significantly lower under the new rules.

In the short term, network charges for residential consumers with relatively flat load profiles are likely to reduce significantly under costreflective prices.

Mr Pierce stated that under the new pricing structures “around 70-80 per cent of consumers would have lower network charges in the medium term”.

These savings will consist of upfront savings for people who use proportionately less energy at times of peak demand, and lower overall network costs and lower average network charges generated by small consumption changes made by people who use a high level of electricity at peak periods. They will not only save money for themselves but help reduce peak demand and the consequent need for infrastructure investment.

Businesses are also expected to benefit from small changes to their energy use patterns.

“Based on Victorian trials, we also found a small business could save up to $2,118, or 34 per cent of its total annual electricity network charges, by using less electricity at peak times for just 20 hours per year when networks are congested,” said Mr Pierce.

Overall, the final network pricing arrangement determination looks set to pave the way for a more flexible, transparent and responsive distribution network used by more informed and actively engaged consumers.

The AEMC is currently in the process of assessing a number of other rule changes recommended by the Power of Choice report. Further updates will be covered in future issues of Utility

The rule change schedule can be viewed on the Power of Choice website: www.aemc.gov.au/majorpages/power-of-choice.

WOMEN IN UTILITIES

MELANIE DUNNILL ENGINEER, TRANSGRID

Continuing our series of interviews with women working in utilities, in this edition we profile Melanie Dunnill, a graduate engineer working at TransGrid.

Melanie started working for TransGrid in 2006 as an apprentice communications technician at the Yass depot. Upon completion of her apprenticeship Melanie applied and was awarded the Managing Director’s Scholarship, which is an internal scholarship awarded to apprentices who excel at their studies and have shown leadership at work.

In 2010 Melanie moved to Sydney to commence her degree, during which she completed work experience in a number of different groups within TransGrid, including projects, high voltage design, regulation, network planning, system planning and protection design. Melanie enjoyed working in the protection design team so much that she returned to the team following the completion of her degree.

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR CURRENT ROLE AT TRANSGRID?

Currently I’m working as a graduate in the protection and metering design group. I’ve been in this role for a year now. This role involves preparing and issuing design work for the protection and metering systems within TransGrid.

A major project that I’m involved with is the protection and metering designs for the rebuild of Vales Point Substation. As a graduate, the most challenging aspect of this job is learning how all the protection systems work for the various pieces of equipment in the substation. There is so much to learn and every job has different factors that need to be accounted for in your design. Thankfully the team that I work in, as well as my mentor, are all very experienced and knowledgeable about protection systems and have provided me with guidance and technical information when needed.

HOW DID YOU GET YOUR START IN THE ENERGY SECTOR?

I had never actually considered a career in the energy sector when I was at school. I knew that I enjoyed maths and science, but I had planned on becoming an accountant. However, I saw an ad for apprenticeships at TransGrid and one was for a communications technician at Yass. My parents encouraged me to apply (my Dad is also a communications technician) and I so did and was offered the job. I thought

that I’d try it out and if I didn’t like it I could always go study accounting, but I was surprised to find that I really enjoyed it. Incidentally, I did manage to complete my Bachelor of Accounting at the same time as I completed my Bachelor of Engineering.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN THINGS YOU ENJOY ABOUT WORKING IN THE UTILITY SECTOR?

One of the best things is the variety of work, not only across the sector but within individual roles. I’ve been very lucky that I’ve been able to work in a wide variety of roles within TransGrid, and will continue to get more experience in the different sectors whilst on the graduate program.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MAIN CHALLENGES INVOLVED IN WORKING IN THE UTILITY SECTOR?

For TransGrid, system reliability is vital; no one wants the lights to go out. One of the biggest challenges is meeting reliability standards whilst remaining cost effective. With rising electricity prices being a big issue in the last few years it’s especially important to ensure that we deliver the most cost effective solutions.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MAIN CHALLENGES FACING TRANSGRID AT THE MOMENT? WHAT OPPORTUNITIES WILL ARISE FROM THESE CHALLENGES?

At the moment, I think there is some uncertainty about whether TransGrid will be privatised, either wholly or partially. However, it could open up new business opportunities, which I think is exciting for someone with an engineering and financial background.

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT SOME OF THE MENTORS YOU’VE HAD THROUGHOUT YOUR CAREER?

TransGrid has formal mentoring programs for apprentices, trainees and graduates as well as a young professionals program. As such, through my different roles I’ve always had a formal mentor for on the job training as well as guidance and support. In addition I’ve been fortunate enough to work with a number of people who are always happy to help and share their extensive knowledge.

MELANIE RECEIVING A SCHOLARSHIP FROM TRANSGRID’S MANAGING DIRECTOR PETER MCINTYRE.

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT SOME OF THE WOMEN WHO’VE INSPIRED YOU BY THEIR WORK IN THE UTILITY SECTOR?

I don’t particularly have certain women that inspire me as such; I tend to be inspired by a range of people. The people that probably inspire me the most though, are the people who are extremely knowledgeable about their particular specialisation as well as about the industry in general. I also admire people who are hardworking and are also just genuinely nice and friendly people.

CAN YOU GIVE US SOME INSIGHT INTO YOUR EXPERIENCE WORKING IN A MALE-DOMINATED SECTOR – HAVE THERE BEEN ANY PARTICULAR CHALLENGES THAT YOU HAVE HAD TO OVERCOME?

To be honest I don’t think that working in a maledominated sector presents any more challenges than working in a female-dominated sector or a sector that has

MELANIE DUNNILL IS CURRENTLY WORKING AT TRANSGRID’S SYDNEY OFFICE AS A GRADUATE ENGINEER.

an even gender ratio. I think it mainly comes down to the culture of your organisation as well as your own attitudes. We have a pretty good and diverse culture here at TransGrid, so gender has never really been an issue. Yes I’ve had some negative experiences, I’m not going to lie, but I’ve always felt that any negative attitudes about my gender is their issue, not mine, and so I don’t take it on board. Overall I’ve had a really positive experience working here.

DO YOU SEE YOURSELF CONTINUING TO WORK IN THE ELECTRICITY AND/OR OTHER UTILITY SECTORS?

I definitely see myself continuing to work in the electricity sector in one form or another. However, if a great opportunity presented itself outside the electricity or utility sector then I would definitely go for it.

Melanie recently participated in the ‘Women in Engineering Summit’ at the University of Wollongong in January 2015. During the week-long event, Melanie acted as a group leader, mentoring the next generation of young women in engineering and sharing her recent experiences as an engineer with TransGrid.

REGULATED NATURAL MONOPOLIES: CAN ELECTRICITY AND GAS NETWORKS REINVENT THEMSELVES?

Grattan Institute Energy Program Director Tony Wood weighs in on the electricity and gas market ‘death spiral’ debate, and shares his thoughts on the impact regulating these markets could potentially have.

Charging for electricity by measured consumption rather than the number of light bulbs per consumer was introduced in the first decade of the 20th century. Around the same time, the idea of electricity supply as a natural monopoly and setting monopoly prices by a government agency became the standard model and it has survived, with some evolution, ever since. The most significant evolution was the separation of competitive markets for production and retailing of electricity and gas from the remaining natural monopolies, the transmissions and distribution networks. Recent developments may challenge whether this structure will evolve to meet new challenges or be confined to the dustbin of history.

Over the last five years, retail electricity prices have increased by more than 60 per cent in real terms and gas prices by more than 35 per cent. Electricity consumption has been falling for several years and there are signs that gas consumption is doing the same, if nothing else, proving that price works. A common cause for both trends has been big increases

in the prices set by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) for the cost of connecting homes and businesses to large, centralised electricity and gas suppliers.

A 2013 Grattan Institute Report, ‘Putting the customer back in front: How to make electricity cheaper’, highlighted fundamental flaws that had arisen with the regulatory model and its outcomes. The good news is that there are signs that network price increases will at least be strongly curtailed as the next five-year price paths are negotiated between the businesses and the AER.

Yet more fundamental challenges to the model and the businesses themselves are emerging. Although far from uniform across Australia, overall falling electricity consumption, driven by causes including pressure on manufacturing and the adoption of more energy-efficient appliances and rooftop solar PV shows little sign of abating. Failure to adapt tariff settings to this new paradigm means that we almost certainly have built more network assets that we now want or need.

The current network tariff structures served us reasonably well when

consumption was rising steadily and consumers generally had similar consumption profiles. These underlying factors no longer apply. The result is that, in addition to being too high, current tariffs have led to unfair crosssubsidies between consumers. Reform of electricity network tariffs is a high priority and should sit at the top of the agenda of the COAG Energy Council. We made specific proposals for such reform in our July 2014 report, ‘Fair pricing for power’.

More cost-reflective tariffs, whereby charges are based on the load that consumers put on the network, will make tariffs immediately fairer and lower in the long term by providing better pricing signals to drive consumer choices. Ongoing falling consumption and solar PV adoption could create the circumstances for the dramatically described death spiral for electricity networks. Proponents of this scenario also embrace the prospect of cheap battery storage that could lead to widespread network disconnection within a decade. The consequences for the underlying model of a regulated

natural monopoly are hard to envisage, but clearly serious.

If that wasn’t enough, we are now seeing the prospect of very big increases in wholesale gas prices, driven by the exposure of the domestic east coast gas market to the global market. The most recent Grattan Institute report, ‘Gas at the crossroads: Australia’s hard choice’, documents the potential impact on gas consuming homes and businesses. Households, particularly in Victoria where gas is extensively used for winter heating, could see annual bill increases of more than $300 per year. Small and large businesses that use gas as a source of heat or chemical feedstock are confronted with big cost increases that will be difficult to recover from their customers.

These electricity and gas trends and their consequences are not disconnected. Gas consumers will be faced with complex choices, including whether to shift to electricity, particularly when the cost of replacing expensive appliances is considered. This choice is complicated even more by the current tariff structure. In general, gas tariffs follow a declining block structure, so that a reduction in consumption avoids the cheapest tranche of gas. If this energy is replaced with electricity, current electricity tariffs will most likely mean the additional electricity is at the average unit price. However, if electricity tariffs are reformed as described above, the marginal price of electricity could be much lower and this would make a shift from gas to electricity much more attractive.

Some businesses have already recognised that gas network prices could go up again if other businesses on the same network move away from gas to other energy sources or even close down. And so we see the prospect of a death spiral for gas networks, with possibly even fewer mourners. Such a prospect may be initially slow if it happens, and is not inevitable, but we would be wise to be alert to the possibility.

A double death helix of collapsing electricity and gas networks may

also be thwarted since a shift of gas to electricity would restore some electricity consumption, at least in areas where the gas price impact is greatest.

So, the questions clearly are: is this bad? And if so, should governments do anything?

As with all changes in consumption of goods and services, government intervention to resist market forces usually doesn’t work and makes things worse in the long term. This does not mean no action. Critically important roles for government are: to address market failures and barriers to efficient market operation; to ensure that policies and regulations made for different times and circumstances remain effective and efficient; and to provide protection for

the vulnerable in our society.

The immediate priorities should be to drive electricity network tariff reform and to ensure that the gas market is operating effectively, including bringing on new supply and opening up the wholesale market. With highly uncertain longer-term prospects, it is harder to be prescriptive. Instead the COAG Energy Council could take a lead in ensuring that the sort of scenarios identified by the CSIRO’s Future Grid work are more widely communicated and explored and, where necessary, options are developed so that policy and regulation of the market and natural monopolies can rise to the challenge. This will not be easy, but it is necessary.

SOLAR RESE AR Shining a light on

A new solar research facility being completed at the University of Queensland’s Gatton campus will be the largest in Australia – and the entire southern hemisphere. The facility will support innovation in the Australian solar industry and provide new insights regarding the integration of large-scale renewable power plants into the electricity grid.

The Gatton research facility is the product of a private and public sector collaboration between the University of Queensland, the University of New South Wales, AGL PV Solar Developments and American solar PV manufacturer, First Solar. An investment of $41.7 million was provided through the Federal Government’s Education Infrastructure Fund

ABOUT THE PLANT

The plant consists of 40,000 First Solar CdTe Flat Panels (an advanced thin-film photovoltaic panel) covering 10ha and will produce enough energy to power more than 450 average Australian homes.

The array will include fixed panel, single-axis and dual-axis tracking arrays so that researchers can compare and contrast the electrical and economic performance of multiple PV mounting technologies. The project will also incorporate a megawatt-hour-scale battery storage research station.

First Solar is responsible for both the design and the full construction of the solar array and will continue to play a role in the research agenda.

AN INDUSTRY/RESEARCH PARTNERSHIP

All projects funded through the Solar Flagships Program needed to have a research partner.

The Gatton facility will act as a pilot plant for the research component of the Nyngan (102MW) and Broken Hill (53MW) solar plant projects being constructed in New South Wales by First Solar for AGL Energy. These large-scale solar farms will be integrated directly into the transmission grid.

According to Craig Froome, Clean Energy Program Manager at the University of Queensland’s Global Change Institute, the partnership with First Solar came about in light of the success of the institute’s other solar projects.

“We had an existing 1.2MW Solar Research Array at our St Lucia project and although not with First

Solar, they were aware of our research activities and we had discussed possible research projects.”

RESEARCH FOR INNOVATION

The primary purpose of the solar research facility is to conduct research into the economic and technical details of integrating large-scale renewable power plants into the conventional electricity grid.

This will be achieved by taking a holistic approach and investigating various aspects such as energy storage, plant optimisation, power systems and the impact of renewable energy on the National Electricity Market.

The battery storage facility will enable research aiming to address issues with the intermittent nature of solar energy, which complicates its inclusion in the grid. It will improve understanding of the value of shortand medium-term energy storage, its impact on the quality of power supply and any resulting economic benefits.

“Our work will help build national capacity for research in solar power deployment, and will have global significance,” said Professor Paul Meredith of UQ’s Global Change Institute.

Mr Froome said that one of the

facility’s most important roles will be in demonstrating the potential and viability of the large-scale solar industry in Australia and encouraging distribution businesses to allow connection.

“Solar, like most renewable technologies, is intermittent and this can create issues for distribution networks. They are therefore hesitant to allow large-scale renewable energy projects, particularly in areas of low demand. The Broken Hill and Nyngan projects will feed into the transmission network, whilst the Gatton project will feed into Energex’s distribution network. It will demonstrate how projects of this size can be used in commercial and industrial size applications – as well as looking into the benefits of both tracking systems and battery storage.”

THE CHALLENGES OF LARGESCALE GRID INTEGRATION

One of the main challenges for the integration of large scale solar plants into the grid is convincing distribution companies to allow connection.

According to Mr Froome, this will always need to be addressed on a site-by-site basis.

“For example, we had no problems with our array at St Lucia Campus

as there was never any possibility of exporting electricity to the grid – we were always going to use what was generated.

“I believe that the only way we can prove that many of the perceived problems are not as bad as they think is through demonstration,” he said.

Overall, Mr Froome believes that the future is bright for the Australian solar industry.

“Australia has a high level of solar generation, but to date most of this has been in the residential sector. The challenge now is to prove that it can also work in the commercial and industrial sectors as well as at a utility scale.

“Australia has more sunshine than most countries in the world, including those that have utility-scale solar farms. As such, I believe the future for solar is good,” he said.

“Eventually with electricity generation, you utilise those resources that are most abundant and economically viable in your geographical area. This is becoming true for solar in Australia and will become more so as the battery storage sector matures.”

“I think that battery storage will be a key factor moving forward – it will remove the intermittency as well as providing an opportunity to load-shift if required.”

STORAGE THE KEY TO OUR ENERGY FUTURE

Low cost, robust energy storage is set to change the energy landscape in Australia for the energy industry and for energy consumers.

Anew representative body - the Australian Energy Storage Council – has been formed, as the energy sector enters a stage of rapid growth.

The Energy Storage Council (ESC) is a national member-based not-for-profit organisation and was established in August 2014 with the key aim to advance the uptake and development of energy storage solutions in Australia.

The founding partner and supporter of the ESC is the Australian Solar Council, bringing over 50 years of knowledge along with a recent history in organising energy storage-focused training courses and activities.

According to Energy Storage Council Chief Executive John Grimes it quickly became clear that energy storage needed its own unique voice.

“While solar and other renewables drive the uptake of energy storage, there are wider applications that have nothing to do with renewable energy.

“While in global terms the Australian market is small, we are extremely relevant when it comes to energy storage. Australians pay some of the highest electricity prices in the world. We live on a massive continent with a small dispersed population. We maintain an extensive electricity grid – with lines often running hundreds of kilometres for only minimal people at the end of them.”

The emergence and viability of energy storage technologies will have a profound effect on how we effectively generate,

move and use energy into the future.

Energy storage deployed wisely can significantly bring down electricity costs and make the electricity network more robust, flexible and reliable. It is vital that energy utilities engage with the energy storage sector sooner rather than later.

An important and immediate focus for the Energy Storage Council is to open this dialogue with utilities and work on developing standards and protocols for integrating energy storage into the network.

“We want safe, effective energy storage solutions that will serve industry and the public well over the long term,” said Mr Grimes.

Other key objectives of the ESC include influencing government policy and securing government support, promoting technology and applications, linking research and development with industry and investment capital, and building market awareness and confidence in energy storage solutions in Australia.

The ESC is also working to connect local and global industry partners, and has committed to partnerships with key industry organisations in the US, Europe, China and India to work towards global standards for the energy storage industry.

The ESC represents companies including technology manufacturers, equipment providers, project developers, consultants, utilities and other energy industry leaders.

With more than 30 committed members already, the ESC is providing a platform for all members to directly engage with other industry participants.

The council will also provide a variety of services to members that include policy and advocacy activities, latest news updates, case studies, industry events and training opportunities.

Already the ESC has begun planning their inaugural conference, to be held alongside the Solar 2015 Conference & Exhibition on 13-14 May 2015 in Melbourne.

The informative and free to attend twoday program will look at the technology, applications and economics of energy storage.

The program will focus on current market developments and trends, technology integration, policy making and industry case studies.

“The ESC is committed to providing an independent forum for all energy storage professionals to network and share information, which is why we are committed to a free to attend event,” said Mr Grimes.

Because the conference will be co-located with the established and highly successful Solar 2015 event, it is expected that over 4,000 delegates will attend the combined event. It will provide participants from across the energy storage and associated industries with a forum to network and do business all in one convenient location.

Keen to learn more about energy storage opportunities?

The May edition of Utility will contain a feature about energy storage and how new technologies will impact utilities.

MAKING A CONNECTION:

MODERNISING THE GOULBURN-MURRAY IRRIGATION NETWORK

The Goulburn-Murray Water Connections Project is currently underway to bring a more effective and efficient means of transporting water to Victoria’s Goulburn-Murray Irrigation District. The three-stage project is Australia’s largest irrigation upgrade and involves the replacement of the major supply channels to the region, the strategic connection of properties, and an array of other projects and efficiency incentives.

THE FOOD BOWL OF VICTORIA

Stretching from Swan Hill to Cobram in northern Victoria, the GoulburnMurray Irrigation District (GMID) covers 68,000 square kilometres and is home to Australia’s most extensive irrigation network. The GMID encompasses four irrigation areas in the Goulburn system (Central Goulburn, Shepparton, Rochester-Campaspe and PyramidBoort) and two in the Murray system (Murray Valley and Torrumbarry). The Goulburn system is primarily supplied from Lake Eildon, while the Murray system is supplied from the Murray River with diversions from Yarrawonga and Torrumbarry weirs.

The region supports $1.94 billion worth of Victoria’s $8.3 billion agricultural commodities, accounting for 24 per cent of the total Victorian value. It produces approximately 22 per cent of the nation’s milk, 96 per cent of Victoria’s tomatoes by weight, 90 per cent of Victoria’s stone fruit by weight and 12 per cent of Victoria’s grapes.

BRINGING IRRIGATION INFRASTRUCTURE INTO THE 21ST CENTURY

Prior to the Connections Project, the region had been serviced by an irrigation system first developed in the late 1800s to early 1900s, relying primarily on flood irrigation via open channels. The channel network comprises 6,300km of open earthen channels, 800km of natural waterways, and approximately 23,000km of water supply outlets (irrigation and domestic and stock), serving an area of approximately 9,900 square kilometres over the six irrigation

areas. The network is managed and operated by Victorian Government statutory water corporation, GoulburnMurray Water (G-MW).

It was estimated that around 28 per cent of the water (or up to 900GL long term cap equivalent) diverted into the district was through leakage, seepage, evaporation and system inefficiencies every year. The channel network, much of which must be manually operated, also involved a time-consuming and labour intensive process, essentially unchanged in 100 years of operations.

The Federal and Victorian Governments have invested over $2 billion to upgrade the outdated network to a world-class, best-practice system which will recover much of this lost water and enable automation of various processes to detect discrepancies in water delivery, identify where maintenance is required, and provide a more consistent and reliable water supply to irrigators.

The body created to undertake the connections project, Northern Victoria Irrigation Renewal Project (NVIRP), was incorporated into G-MW in 2012, and the project continues to progress.

The Connections Project involves three key programs:

Upgrading the backbone channels – extensive upgrades are underway on the major supply channels. The backbone channel upgrade will reshape the backbone and reduce its length from 6300km to 3500km.

Strategic connection plans – each system will be reconnected to the upgraded backbone channel. 160 individual strategic connections for

different areas will take place over an eight-year period. Individual properties will also be connected, involving an individual connection such as a pipeline from the backbone channel to the property. The projects will also involve the removal of the old channels so the land can be put to more efficient use.

Special projects – around $150 million of funding has been allocated for special projects to realise further water savings, including the East Loddon Pipeline, Kerang Lakes, Gunbower Lagoons, Swan Hill and Shepparton East projects.

“The majority of modernisation works undertaken on the channel network are undertaken by our main contractor,” said G-MW spokesperson Fiona Lloyd. “Through a competitive tendering process, TransCom Connect (a consortium of Transfield Services Australia and Comdain Infrastructure) were appointed to undertake this role. TransCom then tender out packages of works to other contractors.

“In addition, the project has established a panel of contractors to undertake on-farm designs and on-farm project management.”

IRRIGATION IMPROVEMENTS

Goulburn-Murray Water says that the Connections Project is progressing on target and already making great improvement to irrigation in the district.

“Each year, the Connections Project has to achieve milestones and targets in order to meet the funding requirements from State and Federal partners,” said Ms Lloyd. “The project management processes reflect these targets, by developing a schedule of works for

streamlining and delivering projects in the available timeframe. When the Connections Project is complete in 2018, G-MW will operate about 3500km of channels supplying water to over 12,000 irrigation outlets.”

The main issues with the old, manually operated irrigation system from an asset owner’s perspective related to the fact that it required a large team of water service officers working up and down channels manually controlling the flow rates and level of the channels.

This created three main issues:

• Manual operation of the regulating structures resulted in a high incidence of musculoskeletal injuries

• Channel levels were difficult to control and outfalls at the end of channel systems were high

• Water orders needed to be placed up to four days in advance of requirement.

“Where in place, the new system is reducing the ordering time to 24 hours, allowing better application of water and optimising crop growth. The higher flow outlets are also remotely controlled with the control gate,” said Ms Lloyd.

Water savings have already been realised from the upgrades so far. These have come about as a result of a number of key improvements:

• Automation of the backbone channel network (thus reducing channel outfalls)

• Replacement of inaccurate Dethridge outlets

• Rationalisation of redundant channels and outlets

• Channel remediation of high loss pools.

An independent audit carried out by Cardno (Qld) found that for the water year 2012/2013, 119,440ML of water was saved by modernisations undertaken as part of the Connections Project Stages 1 and 2.

THE BENEFITS OF AUTOMATION

“The new channel regulators are all managed under the SCADA canopy – this allows immediate changes to structures to maintain required levels

and flows. The larger meters are remotely operated and the medium ones remotely read, thus allowing continuous control or monitoring of the vast majority of the network,” said Ms Lloyd.

The many advantages and benefits of automation include:

• Improved services to irrigation customers with shorter ordering times and accurately measured water supply

• Consistent flow rates available more quickly

• New online ordering facilities

• Time saving for automated outlets.

“In many cases, the water and labour efficiency of the new irrigation system is changing the way landowners or farmers traditionally farm.”

The modernised system is also having a large impact on the utility’s job and asset management strategies.

“The operation and maintenance requirements are completely different for the new modernised system compared to the old manual system. This has resulted in changed skills and strategies to manage the modernised fleet.”

MANAGING AN EFFECTIVE UPGRADE PROJECT

An extensive project like the

Goulburn-Murray Water Connections Project involves dealing with countless landowners and other stakeholders. According to G-MW, this makes an effective community engagement strategy essential.

“The project has already dealt with thousands of customers on the automation and metering of the backbone network. In addition there are over 7,000 customers on the nonbackbone network that we are working with to either connect to the backbone or find a solution,” said Ms Lloyd.

“The project has a Communication and Engagement Strategy that is designed to enhance and support the implementation of the Connections Project.

“This strategy is designed to be updated regularly to reflect feedback from irrigators on how the process can be improved.

“A recent G-MW customer satisfaction survey found that customers who had modernised systems were more satisfied than those still using Dethridge wheels.”

The Goulburn-Murray Water Connections Project is an example of a successful, large-scale irrigation upgrade. The project is well on its way to securing the water supply of Victoria’s food bowl and the future of the region’s valuable irrigation-reliant industries.

The utility industry is regularly required to call on an enormous and varied range of specialists; from mapping, to drilling, to wastewater treatment, to asset management, to pipe relining, to pipeline integrity, to land access, to risk management, and the list goes on. To make the process a little easier, Utility magazine is bringing together experts from various fields to answer your questions.

GLOBAL NAVIGATION SATELLITE SYSTEMS

HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH CONFLATION OF DATASETS?

Derek, GIS technician at a gas utility

For the purposes of this column I will try to answer this from a GNSS perspective rather than a GIS one.

Data conflation in a GIS sense is handled in many different ways and has been the subject of large amounts of research into ways to address the combining of various datasets with various quality and levels of information. I would like to address this in connection with GNSS and field data collection. With the advances in portable hardware it is now possible to readily take very large datasets into the field in a functional way. That is to say, the limitations placed on this in the past by low processor speeds and short battery life to a large extent have been removed from the equation. What this means is that it is possible to address data conflation at the point of data collection as one method that can be used in producing merged datasets.

As field data collection can be quite labour intensive anyway, it can allow for datasets to be collected that are a real-time update of the formal existing data base. Details regarding observational uncertainty can be included automatically based on the correct storage of this information directly from the operator and based on the instrument type being used. As an example, using cloud-based connections it is possible to directly update the main database held on the server at head office. This can allow the data to be corrected where new information or higher accuracy is available at the point of observation. This can be preferable to collecting a new dataset that needs to be later

merged with the older or existing dataset/s, which is also labour intensive and costly.

One of the advantages of this field data collection methodology is in the ability to recognise where additional field information is required. The operator can immediately determine whether or not further actions need to be taken to collect data to either improve positional accuracy or in identifying or describing features and their condition. This can save significantly in data collection costs that would have been incurred by revisiting site/s to revise data after discrepancies were identified in an office situation when trying to resolve a conflation issue.

If the correct structure is implemented within the database then it can be possible to also ensure that new, less correct data is not being used to overwrite older but more correct data as this data collection occurs. The concept is that there is one dataset and not multiples and that the dataset can be updated in real-time. This is not necessarily easy, due to structural and operational requirements, however it is one way to deal with data conflation.

As part of this discussion, this brings us to positional uncertainty, with regard to coordinate position results collected by GNSS. In the past various methods have been utilised to specify the accuracy of surveys and coordinates. Surveyors typically used a class and order structure that was used to indicate the quality of results obtained from observations in control surveys. It is now being promoted that the use of positional uncertainty should be utilised on a more widespread basis, especially in a GIS sense to, as a minimum, tag

coordinates with a quality indicator that may allow relative positioning from disparate datasets to be more reasonably performed.

As part of the overall progress towards the improvement of datasets and the minimisation of conflation in a GNSS sense, there has been considerable effort put forward in developing an Australian Strategic Plan for GNSS, published by the Australian Spatial Consortium and available on the CRCSI website (www.crcsi.com. au). The development of a more unified approach to the progress of GNSS use within Australia is outlined with a possible direction to follow. Although published in 2012, it is probably worth another look to either further follow this path or make adaptations to its current course to ensure a forward momentum and that opportunities are not lost.

ABOUT EVAN BOLLARD

Evan Bollard has over 30 years of experience in the specification, implementation and use of GNSS equipment in all types of high accuracy applications, both real-time and post processed.

Evan is a surveyor by profession who has been involved in the development of major machine control applications from concept through to design, prototyping, manufacture and marketing since 1999. He is currently a GNSS Solutions Specialist with GlobalPOS.

HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILLING

WHAT IS THE BEST METHOD FOR ATTACHING THE TRACER WIRE TO THE PULLING HEAD?

National sales manager, tracer wire manufacturer

It is generally recommended to use a good quality stainless steel wire with a diameter of 1.6-6mm (depending on crossing length and geology). The wire is threaded through the pulling eye of the pulling head and tied or joined with a crimp, making sure there are no kinks or bends. The cable reel should be set up at the entry point to allow the cable to enter the bore unhindered as pulling proceeds. As with anything you put downhole, make sure it is good quality and don’t be tempted to take shortcuts.

WHAT IS HOLDING BACK OPEN EXCAVATION CONTRACTORS FROM PURCHASING HDD MACHINES AND DOING MORE OF THEIR PROJECTS TRENCHLESS?

Owner, trenchless contractor

This is a good question and historically a number of large international contractors have attempted this arrangement, some with limited success. The pipeline

contractors acquired or developed drilling divisions but later discovered horizontal directional drilling requires specialist personnel and specialist equipment with different skill sets, and often mindsets, from those used with open excavation. These drilling divisions then perform work for the parent company but find it difficult to win subcontract works in their own right. It then becomes challenging to maintain work for the specialist personnel and equipment and make a regular and reliable return on the investment. For this arrangement to work it becomes important that personnel are utilised in other business units in between drilling works.

Generally I feel growth in the HDD industry, both for independent companies and larger organisations, is being hindered due to a shortage in experienced personnel. It takes a considerable number of years to gain experience in such a diverse and changing industry, and often the next generation of workers are tempted into other more lucrative industries before gaining enough experience. The more experienced personnel often

MICROTUNNELLING

WHAT IS THE AXIS GUIDED

BORING SYSTEM? WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MICROTUNNELLING AND AXIS?

The Vermeer AXIS guided boring system is a pit-launched trenchless installation method designed to achieve pinpoint, on-grade accuracy while eliminating some of the difficult steps associated with other installation techniques. A wide range of product pipe, sizing specifications, and other jobsite requirements can be met with the capabilities of the AXIS system. The system gives on-grade accuracy and high efficiency, while minimising restoration and installation costs.

The main difference between microtunnelling and the Vermeer AXIS guided boring system is the fact that AXIS achieves pinpoint accuracy, while also achieving excellent productivity.

After 25 years of installing sewer and water pipelines, I developed the Vermeer AXIS guided boring system to fill what I saw as a gap in the market. Over the years I have worked with various microtunnelling equipment which might offer extreme accuracy, but could be cumbersome and time consuming to work with. I wanted to combine accuracy with productivity, and that is what AXIS offers.

work freelance, moving from project to project, preferring to work on day rates rather than staying with one contractor on salary. I feel it would benefit our industry if we had a recognised training scheme that allowed personnel to attain certification progressively as they gained experience and work their way up through the ranks.

Also we need to keep our minds open to new technologies and possible hybrid solutions between open and trenchless construction, such as ploughing and direct lay. Our industries currently coexist, but may well merge further in the future as new methodologies and possibilities develop.

ABOUT CHARLES STOCKTON

UK-born Charles has been a part of the HDD sector in Australasia since 2003. He is the Managing Director of Stockton Drilling Services, a leading engineering consultancy specialising in HDD and other trenchless pipeline installation methods.

ABOUT STUART HARRISON

Stuart Harrison is the Managing Director of Edge Underground, where he specialises in on-grade microtunnelling installations with millimetre accuracy. Stuart is also the inventor of the AXIS guided boring system, and he is constantly working to improve the effectiveness of this and other trenchless systems used in the installation of gravity sewers.

MAY 2015

AUGUST 2015

NOVEMBER 2015

2016

SURESEARCH LEADERS IN UNDERGROUND UTILITY LOCATION

PROTECTING YOUR SITE IS OUR MAIN PRIORITY

WE USE THE LATEST IN VACUUM EXCAVATION, CCTV AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

www.suresearch.com.au

World‘s first “Clawless Crawler”

• Lower and raise the crawler in and out of manholes with unprecedented ease and safety using only the camera cable

• Always lands rear wheels first

• Ideal for drop junctions

• No more wasted hours trying to locate and retrieve from deep manholes

• No more broken lenses or damaged heads