Australia’s electricity system is undergoing rapid transformation. Rooftop solar, electrification, and localised energy use are increasing, while grid-scale generation and transmission projects face delivery delays. For Ausgrid—Australia’s largest distribution network operator serving 4 million people—this creates both risk and opportunity.

To respond, Ausgrid is deploying a portfolio of distribution-connected community batteries, typically 5 MW in size and co-located with substations. Backed by innovation funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), these batteries are designed as shared infrastructure—unlocking system value while supporting equitable customer access. Ausgrid’s network-led ownership model ensures battery capacity is prioritised for regulated network services, with spare capacity contracted for market or customer use.

This presentation outlines Ausgrid’s approach to scaling community batteries as a new asset class. It includes:

A structured framework for quantifying over 30 network use cases, including deferral of augmentation, voltage support, transmission demand reduction, and improved DER hosting

A practical reservation model to allocate and prioritise network services

Standardisation of layout, connection, and control processes to enable repeatable deployment

Development of a technology and commercial partner ecosystem, including non-lithium options

An inclusive customer access model via Energy-Storage-as-a-Service (ESaaS), enabled by Local Use-of-System (LUOS) pricing (innovation trial tariff)

Internal analysis suggests shared community batteries could reduce system costs by up to $25 billion if they replace even half of expected household battery uptake in NSW.

This session will share lessons from Ausgrid’s operational fleet, rollout strategy, and evolving delivery model—demonstrating how distributed batteries can become flexible, scalable grid infrastructure that delivers for customers, the grid, and the system.