Smart meter JV to receive $35m CEFC funding

intelliHUB, a joint venture that is acquiring Acumen, Origin Energy’s $267 million smart meter business unit, has received $35 million of debt finance.

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has committed $35 million of debt finance towards the expansion of intelliHUB — a JV between Pacific Equity Partners and smart meter company Landis+Gyr. The new JV will provide smart meter solutions, servicing Australian energy retailers and consumers. The Acumen business included the existing management and servicing of an already deployed 170,000 meters and the combined business has future, long-term contracts with Origin Energy and other retailers that will see it roll out and manage more than 1 million smart meters across Australia and New Zealand.

CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth said, “Smart meters give energy consumers better control over their energy consumption, which is essential for lowering carbon emissions. They also give consumers the ability to better understand where and how they can benefit from behind-the-meter solar PV and energy storage solutions.

The CEFC investment is part of a debt finance package to support both the Acumen acquisition and intelliHUB’s growth plans for the business. Acumen has already installed 170,000 smart meters for Origin customers and this is set to grow as ‘Power of Choice’ reforms are rolled out. Introduced on 1 December 2017, Power of Choice requires all new and replacement electricity meters to use smart technology, to give consumers more control over their energy use.

The CEFC investment is the latest in the grid and storage technology space following equity investments in Greensync, Redback, Relectrify and Thinxtra. The CEFC has also provided finance to Lincoln Gap Wind Farm in SA, DeGrussa Mine in WA and Kennedy Energy Park in Qld, which all have a battery storage component.

CEFC Grid Solutions and Storage Lead Simon Brooker said, “There are some 9 million metering points in the National Electricity Market. By accelerating their conversion to smarter technologies, customers will benefit from more meaningful information relating to their energy consumption. These customers will be better informed when considering investment in solar and storage solutions by matching system specifications to actual consumption patterns.

“Through improved data provision, electricity network operators will be able to harness greater insights to enable a smoother operation of the energy grid, facilitating improved integration of renewables and energy storage.”

Image caption: CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth and intelliHUB CEO Adrian Clark.