Pilot · Project CURTAIL

Curtailable GPU offtake, live on the grid.

Project CURTAIL pairs the FlexSys scheduler with Flipped Energy's wholesale and retail market integrations. When the network operator needs less load, FlexSys drains GPU work without dropping in-flight requests — and bids the freed capacity back into the wholesale spot market.

StatusDMIA panel-endorsed · funding agreement in execution
What it is

A regulator-overseen demonstration, not a pitch deck

CURTAIL is being run on the live Transgrid network under the Demand Management Innovation Allowance (DMIA) — real infrastructure, independently measured and verified.

Data centres running AI workloads are, from a grid operator's perspective, a large and growing block of inflexible load. CURTAIL tests whether that load can be made flexible — curtailed on request, without breaking the workloads running on it — and paid for that flexibility the same way any other demand-response resource is.

The scheduler reads AEMO Pre-Dispatch and 5-minute spot price signals directly. Workload placement reflects the price the grid is paying right now. Curtailment events are measured at the data centre's point of common coupling, targeting IEC 61000-4-30 Class A instrumentation — the same standard used for regulatory grade metering, not an engineering estimate.

Why it matters
  • For the grid: a new source of fast, verifiable demand response, sized to the AI buildout already underway.
  • For the operator: a way to monetise flexibility instead of just absorbing a flat power bill.
  • For the workload: nothing in flight gets dropped — flexing happens at the scheduling layer, not by pulling the plug.
Who's involved

Network operator funding, independent verification

CURTAIL isn't a Flipped Energy claim about itself — it's funded by the network operator and checked by parties with no stake in the outcome.

Transgrid
NSW transmission network operator. Funds the trial under the Demand Management Innovation Allowance (DMIA) and provides the Pre-Dispatch and 5-minute spot signals the scheduler responds to.
CSIRO
Independent measurement and verification partner, validating that curtailment events are real, measured, and reported honestly.
University of Queensland
Independent measurement and verification partner, in-kind contribution to the project scope alongside CSIRO.
ResetData
GPU infrastructure host for the pilot deployment — the data centre where curtailable AI workloads actually run.
Where it stands

Milestones

Updated as the pilot moves from endorsement to live deployment.

Complete
Independent panel endorsement
DMIA panel endorsed the project scope and methodology.
In progress
Funding agreement execution
DMIA Funding Agreement with Transgrid in final execution.
In progress
Market accreditation
AEMO B2B market accreditation for automated dispatch response in progress.
Next
Live deployment on ResetData
FlexSys operator goes live on ResetData GPU capacity, instrumented and metered.
Talk to us

Curtailable capacity, deployable now.

Deployable today via ResetData, with the same operator and control plane described on the architecture page.