Authorities look to control household rooftop solar power systems to stabilise the grid

The body that runs WA's main electricity market wants the ability to remotely dump excess solar power from households — cutting the bill rebates people receive — to safeguard the grid from surging levels of renewable energy and avoid rolling power cuts. Key points: Too much solar power in WA is threatening the stability of the electricity grid The market operator wants the ability to control households' solar power input The alternative is potentially rolling power cuts to avoid the grid overloading Audrey Zibelman, the chief executive of the Australian Energy Market Operator, said so-called smart inverters would be crucial to ensuring the rise of rooftop solar did not overwhelm the stability of the power network. A key part of this process was smart inverters, which would enable AEMO to "spill" excess power generated from rooftop solar panels at times when the network was coming under stress. Rolling power cuts to keep system stable Alternatively, AEMO warned it may have resort to "load shedding" — or rolling power restrictions across entire areas — to avoid production from solar panels overwhelming the grid.