Distribution zone substation data

Ausgrid operates a network with over 180 zone substations. These substations form the boundary between the sub-transmission network and the distribution (11kV) network. In accordance with the National Electricity Rules Chapter 5 (Rule 5.13A), Ausgrid is making available historical interval demand data (in Megawatts) for all zone substations not subject to third party privacy concerns. Please refer to the Australian Energy Market Commission for further information on this rule.

Each year, within 30 business days of the publication of our Distribution and Transmission Annual Planning Report, Ausgrid will provide 12 months worth of interval data in .csv format. The Reporting Year (as defined in Rule 5.13A) will be from May to May (i.e the 2015/16 data will cover the period May 2015 to April 2016).

Disclaimer

The data contained in these files (Distribution Zone Substation Data) is the sole property of Ausgrid, and Ausgrid retains all copyright and intellectual property in this data. Ausgrid accepts no liability for the use of this data by any organisation for any purpose. The data is raw data from Ausgrid's SCADA and metering systems. This means it has not been analysed, assessed or validated for accuracy or quality. No warranty or guarantee is provided as to the data's quality or suitability for any particular purpose. A few of the likely issues with this data will be:

• It will contain occasional metering errors, either transient or sustained. This will lead to gaps in the data.
• Switching within the distribution network will cause spikes and dips in metered load at each substation. This switching may be short or long term.
• The equipment used for measurement at each site is different, and in many cases only amps are available. Therefore estimates about megawatt demand are required at these sites, based on an assumed power factor.
• Some substations which predominantly supply large individual customers have been withheld from publication due to confidentiality concerns, in accordance with clause (g) of the rule. 

Further enquiries

If you have any enquiries about this data or would like to provide feedback, including how the data is being used by your organisation and how useful it is, please email us at sharinginformation@ausgrid.com.au including your name and organisation.

Data format

The data is contained in csv files, which are bundled in a zipped file for each financial year. Every csv file contains data for a single zone substation. Each row contains the year, the name of the zone substation, the date and the unit of the data, followed by a whole day's worth of data sampled at 15 minutes. The time format is Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) during the winter period and Australian Eastern Daylight Time (AEDT) during the summer period.