A new $20 million fund that will back innovative technologies to help the country’s electricity system manage demand and potentially lead to cheaper power bills was announced in New Plymouth on Wednesday.

The Government’s Distributed Flexibility Innovation Fund will be managed by Taranaki-based Ara Ake, the country’s Future Energy Centre set up in New Plymouth in the wake of the 2019 announcement ending new offshore petroleum exploration permits.

The fund, expected to be open for applications early next year, was announced by Energy and Resource Minister Dr Megan Woods at a networking breakfast at Ara Ake on Wednesday.

The minister had been in New Plymouth overnight, attending an energy debate with representatives from Act, Greens, National and New Zealand First on Tuesday.

She said the fund would support innovative technologies and systems to better manage peak electricity demand and improve reliability and resilience at the network level.

“We are preparing the electricity system to be able to play a lead role in the energy transition to net zero 2050.

“As we work to scale up renewable electricity, how demand from consumers is managed will become critical to ensuring power is affordable and reliable as we transition,” she said.

The fund would open the door for projects testing new ways of responding to changes in electricity demand to support system-wide improvements, the minister said.

Examples of projects that could be eligible for funding included virtual power plants which could harness the power of numerous solar and battery units in homes or businesses to meet demand, and technology that controlled household appliance power use at peak times.

”I think it’s probably one of those things, we’ve got to find a way of talking to people about it that doesn’t sound like we’re just asking them to turn the heater off, turn the lights off,” Woodssaid.

”I think one of the really critical ways we can talk to people about it in an innovative way is that this means cheaper power bills.”

Funded projects will have a focus on collaboration to bring new solutions, and recipients will be expected to share insights to improve knowledge across the wider industry and government.

Ara Ake chief executive, Dr Cristiano Marantes, said it was an exciting initiative to be part of and one they knew would drive further innovation and improve the equitability and resiliency of the electricity sector.

In July Ara Ake received $70m from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to fund the centre for another 10 years.