NRFC invests $100m to support Intellihub’s smart meter rollout
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The news: The National Reconstruction Fund Corporation (NRFC) is investing $100 million in energy management company Intellihub to boost its smart meter rollout.
The numbers: The $100 million investment in senior secured debt is part of a $3.1 billion debt funding package and marks the first investment in the NRFC’s Renewables and Low Emissions Technology Priority Area.
Founded in 2018, Intellihub is owned by Brookfield and Pacific Equity Partners and manages over 3.3 million smart meters across Australia.
The context: The funding will be used to support the rollout of smart meters and to upgrade Intellihub’s Evergen energy management software to enable its integration with a wider range of smart home devices, the NRFC said in a statement. It will also enable Intellihub to develop and acquire new ‘Behind-The-Meter’ or BTM devices that can be integrated into its Evergen platform
The investment will help to support temporary local and regional meter installation jobs, as well permanent roles within Intellihub's operations, as part of the rollout.
NRFC CEO David Gall said “The transition to a net zero economy is an urgent and important national project and survey after survey has shown that the majority of Australians want to see concrete action to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change.”
Gall added that around one third of Australian homes has rooftop solar, meaning the NRFC’s investment will help individual Australians save money on energy bills and make the most of their solar panels, in parallel with contributing to the country’s energy transition.
Intellihub’s Evergen platform aggregates consumer energy resources from BTM devices into Virtual Power Plants or VPPs that can help to stabilise the grid, absorb excess daytime solar energy, and minimise usage when the energy grid is under stress. It also helps customer better understand and more closely manage their energy use.
The source: NRFC and Intellihub press release
