EnergyAustralia has welcomed the Australian government's announcement to invest up to A$100 million to help transform the country's electricity network into a smart grid.

EnergyAustralia has been building a smart grid since 2006. Under the A$170 million program, EnergyAustralia has rolled out more than 400,000 first generation smart meters, or interval meters, across Sydney and the Central Coast; built a communications network using carrier grade internet protocol technology; installed 800km of fiber optic cable to its 200 major substations and depots, and installed communications switches.

The company has also built a trial telecommunications network to allow two-way communication across its electricity network; and has begun rolling out 12,000 smart sensors devices across its network.

This will allow greater monitoring and control of the network, to reduce power outages through faster fault location and preventative maintenance, according to EnergyAustralia.