Understanding your electricity meter

Also known as an accumulation meter, electricity flat-rate meters will record how much electricity you use in kilowatt-hours (kWh). Since this type of meter is an older model, the only way to check how much electricity you’ve used within a specific period is to manually compare the numbers between two consecutive readings. For instance, if your meter reads 345 kWh in the morning (shown below on a cyclometer display) and then 386 kWh the following morning, you’ve used 41 kWh in a 24-hour period.

Electricity flat-rate meters come in three types: cyclometer display, digital display and dial display. Regardless of the type you have, a meter reader will come to your house and read it before sending the data to your retailer to determine your electricity bill.¹

The electricity interval meter is an advanced version of the flat-rate meter. It records your energy use electronically in either 15 or 30-minute intervals. With an electricity interval meter, you can be charged using either a time-of-use (TOU) or ‘flexible use’ tariff, meaning you’re charged at different electricity rates depending on the time of day.

An electricity interval meter still requires a meter reader to come to your home and take the readings.¹

Also known as an advanced meter, a smart meter records your energy use in real time. It’s similar to an interval meter as it records your energy use in 30-minute intervals; however, the data is collected remotely and doesn’t require a meter reader. If your property doesn’t have a smart meter, you may be able to upgrade, but you may need to pay an electricity meter installation cost.¹

A smart meter may be ideal for those on a time-of-use (TOU) tariff because TOU rates will vary throughout the day depending on when you use electricity. Plus, the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has now introduced rules in the market to accelerate smart-meter rollout to replace all legacy electricity meters with smart meters by 2030.²

You can read your smart meter remotely through an app on your mobile phone instead of going to your meter box to get a reading; your retailer usually provides this through their online services. By being able to monitor when there’s high energy consumption in your home, you can observe your energy habits and adjust them to reduce your consumption during peak charging times.

Without a smart meter, you may still be able to track your energy usage with an electricity monitoring device.

If your home has a solar photovoltaic (PV) system or solar battery, you’ll have a solar meter (also known as a net meter) to help you read how much of the renewable energy your household consumes – again, this is done in 5 or 30-minute intervals. A solar meter tracks the imported electricity for your household and exported solar power to the grid. Additionally, depending on your solar meter type, it can help you see how much excess energy your system generates.

By tracking the excess energy production from your solar panels, you can calculate how many kilowatt hours (kWh) you’re selling back to the grid. The amount you make from the excess energy is referred to as feed-in-tariff credits, and you can receive these credits at the end of each billing period. When comparing energy retailers, you can also compare solar feed-in tariffs.

Your electricity meter is usually installed on the side or front of your home in a safe and easily accessible area. The meter is installed by a meter provider (appointed by your retailer), who then also conducts your meter reads (unless you have a smart meter, in which case meter reads are done remotely).³ Depending on when your home was built, some providers will install it inside, which means you’ll need to be home for them to access your meter.

When a new home is built, a licensed electrician will install the meter box and associated wiring, however the meter itself is installed and connected by a meter provider. If you upgrade to a new meter, your old meter may be removed by the installer and returned to your electricity distributor or simply disconnected from the grid.

Your energy retailer is responsible for arranging meter installations, upgrades to a smart meter and internal repairs and replacements. You may incur an out-of-pocket fee if the work is outside of the standard maintenance requirements for that meter, such as a voluntary meter upgrade.

You can find your NMI number on your electricity bill, as it is rarely printed on the meter itself. On the bill, you will usually find the NMI near the top of the first or second page; it will be 11 numbers in most states except Queensland, where it is 2 letters followed by 9 numbers.

If you’re new to a property and haven’t received a bill yet, you could contact your electricity retailer for your NMI.

A technician will take your meter reading and send it to your retailer, who will then calculate the energy costs for your next electricity bill. Distributors are required to take a reading at least once a year.³

If your meter reader can’t access your meter for any reason, you may receive an estimated power bill rather than an actual one, which will be based on past meter reads and your last bill. An actual read may not be available for several reasons, including:

• if your distributor can’t access your meter
• if your distributor can’t send your meter data to your retailer in time for the next billing.

Under the National Energy Customer Framework (NECF), you are also able to conduct your own meter reading before your bill’s due date.⁴ Before you do so, your retailer must provide you with clear guidance on how to perform the meter read.

To fix a faulty electricity meter, you’ll first have to request that your retailer tests the meter. This will determine if your electricity meter is broken or defective and, if they find an issue, they’ll replace the meter on your behalf. However, if there are no issues with your meter, you might be charged a fee for the test.

Newer meters installed are also now remotely read meaning they have communications attached to send the meter reading to the distributor and your energy retailer.

Yes, your electricity meter can be disconnected. This can either be because of your own reasons (such as renovations) or because your retailer has issued you a disconnection notice (usually for failure to pay your bill on time).

There are restrictions on when a disconnection by your retailer can occur, as per the National Energy Customer Framework (NECF). For example, a disconnection can only take place on a weekday and additional provisions apply for customers experiencing hardship or those with life-support equipment onsite.⁴

Yes, possibly. If you have a smart meter, it could help improve your energy efficiency by:

• Giving you round-the-clock access to your electricity usage so you can see when you use it most.
• Allowing you to identify trends in your electricity usage and potentially re-evaluate your energy habits to decrease your energy consumption, which may lower your energy bills.
• If suitable to your circumstances, you could switch to a time-of-use tariff and shift your use of energy-heavy appliances to off-peak charging periods.