Overview
AGL Energy is one of Australia’s largest energy companies, founded in 1837 and serving approximately 4.5 million customers across the nation.
The company is undergoing a significant transformation toward renewable energy, targeting 12 gigawatts of new renewable generation and firming by the end of 2035, when all of its coal fire generators are aimed to be closed. Beyond traditional energy services, AGL has expanded into solar and battery solutions, telecommunications, and electric vehicle charging, positioning itself as a comprehensive energy and essential services provider in Australia’s energy transition.
AGL’s approach to electric vehicle charging is fundamentally different from that of traditional charging operators. Rather than focusing solely on charging revenue, AGL views EV charging as a strategic tool to accelerate transport electrification across Australia. The company operates under the philosophy that every new EV driver becomes a high-value customer for their broader energy services ecosystem, which includes residential energy plans, solar installations, and battery storage installations, virtual power plant and home charging solutions.
Operating through their Electrification and Innovation Team, AGL has pioneered an innovative Kerbside charging program that targets high-density residential areas where residents lack off-street parking. This approach addresses a critical barrier to EV adoption in Australia, where it’s estimated that approximately 30% of the population doesn’t have access to dedicated parking for home charging.
“We have a very strong desire, appetite and incentive really to support our customers through this electrification journey and the transition. That’s literally what my team eats, sleeps, lives, and breathes. AGL very truly believes in electrification as being the future and being a leader in electrification. The goal really is for people to become converts into EVs. We want more EV evangelists. We want more EV drivers. That’s the goal.”
Shiv Nandwani,
eMobility Product Owner, AGL Energy
We went from zero sites to 150+ sites in a 6-month span, thanks to AMPECO’s platform infrastructure and team support. We’ve basically taken Sydney from barely having any AC chargers for people who live in apartments, to having no way to charge their vehicle near their home, to now a significant number of residential streets in inner Sydney having an AGL EV charger that’s powered by AMPECO.
Shiv Nandwani,
eMobility Product Owner, AGL Energy
Challenges
Accelerated Deployment Under Tight Timelines
AGL needed to move quickly to deploy kerbside chargers to meet both customer expectations and strategic deployment commitments. This required identifying and implementing a new CPMS solution under a tight timeline enabling rapid rollout of new charging sites.
Addressing EV Adoption Barriers in Urban Areas
AGL was pioneering a Kerbside charging approach in high-concentrated residential areas, representing a substantial risk with no prior validation of apartment dweller adoption at scale.
Regulatory and Compliance Requirements
As part of government funding programs, AGL needed to meet strict uptime requirements (99%) and provide telemetry data to government bodies for capacity planning. The platform needed to support OCPI connections for data sharing while maintaining high reliability standards across their growing network.
Enterprise-Grade Security and Integration Needs
As a 185-year-old enterprise with complex legacy systems, AGL required robust security protocols, a comprehensive API with seamless integration capabilities with its existing ERP systems, Power BI dashboards, and customer management platforms backed by extensive documentation.
opportunities
Integrated Energy Ecosystem Leadership
AGL has a unique opportunity to leverage its market position in energy generation and retail. This positioning enables AGL to offer customers complete energy solutions across their EV charging and home journey.
Innovation in Charging Models
The rapid growth of Australia’s EV market presented opportunities to pioneer new charging approaches, particularly Kerbsite charging in urban areas where traditional models had not been tested at scale.
V2G and Energy Flexibility
Australia’s high solar penetration and grid volatility opens up substantial opportunities for vehicle-to-grid technology and energy flexibility services, positioning AGL to play a pioneering role in bidirectional charging solutions that could benefit both customers and grid stability.
Solution
AGL selected the AMPECO charge point management platform after a comprehensive evaluation process that assessed multiple parameters, such as technical capabilities, implementation speed, pricing, and API-driven capabilities. The decision was influenced by AMPECO’s superior documentation quality, competitive pricing structure, and proven ability to meet AGL’s needs within a tight implementation timeline.
Key Solution Components:
Rapid Deployment and Migration Support
AMPECO provided comprehensive support for AGL’s urgent timeline requirements, enabling the company to go from contract signing to full production in several weeks.
Advanced API Integration and Analytics
AMPECO’s robust API capabilities enabled AGL to integrate seamlessly with their existing enterprise systems, including ERP platforms and Power BI dashboards. The open API architecture supported AGL’s preference for leveraging AMPECO’s core functionalities rather than building custom solutions, reducing development costs and complexity within their enterprise environment.
Dynamic Load Management Capabilities
The platform supports AGL’s innovative approach to DLM, enabling real-time regulation of charging output based on wholesale energy market conditions. This capability allows AGL to maintain consistent pricing for customers while managing grid demand and supporting renewable energy integration, rather than implementing traditional peak/off-peak tariff structures.
White-Label Mobile Application
AMPECO’s white-label app provided AGL with a branded customer experience that integrates with their broader energy services ecosystem. The app accommodates AGL’s unique single-plug Kerbside charging infrastructure, with planned enhancements to streamline the user experience and integrate with AGL’s comprehensive energy product portfolio through menu linking.
Regulatory Compliance and Reporting
The platform includes comprehensive uptime monitoring and reporting capabilities to meet government funding requirements, including automated telemetry data sharing through OCPI connections for grid capacity planning purposes.
Enterprise Security and Scalability
AMPECO’s platform meets AGL’s stringent security requirements as a government-regulated utility company while providing the scalability needed to support rapid network expansion and integration with multiple hardware partners.
Results
Market Leadership in EV Charging Innovation
Using AMPECO’s platform, AGL established itself as a pioneer in kerbside charging with 150+ stations in around 6 months, creating a new model for urban EV charging. The company achieved its goal of providing comprehensive coverage across inner Sydney, fundamentally transforming EV charging accessibility for apartment dwellers and residents without off-
street parking.
Foundation for Comprehensive Energy Ecosystem
AMPECO’s platform provided the technical foundation for the launch of AGL’s kebside charging program and the system is positioned to enable future innovations.
EV Driver Education and Market Development
The AMPECO platform’s comprehensive reporting and analytics capabilities enabled AGL to better understand EV driver behaviour and optimise its EV charging network utilisation. The successful deployment demonstrated that innovative charging models can effectively serve previously underserved market segments.
Partnership Development and Market Expansion
The quick and successful platform implementation enabled AGL to establish strategic partnerships for infrastructure deployment and network expansion.
Meeting Regulatory Standards
The network consistently achieves high uptime, closely aligning with the government-mandated 99% requirement. Initial coverage challenges in areas with poor network connectivity were quickly addressed through hardware augmentation, demonstrating the AMPECO platform’s reliability.
“Instead of raising prices for our customers via peak and off-peak tariffs, our preference would be to try to keep that price as consistent as possible. The way we do that instead is by ramping up and down throughput. AMPECO supports us with live management of the fleet output, and that supports grid stability, sustainability, but also margin.”
Shiv Nandwani
eMobility Product Owner, AGL Energy
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