Rule drafted to accelerate smart meter rollout in Australia

The Australia Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has issued a draft rule to start accelerating the deployment of smart meters from July 2024.

The draft rule follows the March decision of the Commission to fast-track the process, to achieve a full rollout of smart meters across the country’s national electricity market by 2030.

The proposed draft rule addresses two core ‘reforms’ for accelerated access for customers and the broader energy system to the benefits of smart meters.

One of these is the accelerated deployment of smart meters to achieve cost savings, support a modern, data-enabled energy system and give customers access to a range of benefits sooner.

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The second is improved network access to power quality information for better management of the networks to reduce the network costs for customers, save energy and minimise network safety risks.

In addition, the draft rule also includes four supporting reforms.

These include new customer safeguards protecting customers from potential cost risks by prohibiting any upfront costs ahead of a smart meter installation and increasing notification requirements ahead of tariff changes, and an improved customer experience ensuring that they can access the full suite of benefits that smart meters provide, inter alia by introducing new customer friendly information requirements.

They also include reducing the barriers to installation to support delivery efficiencies and therefore cost savings in the accelerated deployment of smart meters and improved meter testing and inspections, helping to minimise costs and improve efficiencies for industry and customers.

AEMC chair Anna Collyer says that a number of Australians are already using smart meters to cut power bills, from those who have resources such as rooftop solar, to customers without solar who may be using smart meters to access cheaper tariffs.

“Smart meters present clear benefits for consumers and form a crucial link for the wider energy system, paving the way for significant advances necessary to reach net zero.”

The accelerated replacement of legacy meters is expected to deliver net benefits of Au$507 million (US$335 million) for the national electricity market regions, including New South Wales, Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory and South Australia.

The draft rule is the first step in a broader programme of work to modernise and digitise Australia’s energy system, with the AEMC committed to progressing further regulatory reforms, including customer access to real-time data from smart meters, which had not been included for the current rule change request.

The draft rules are proposed to commence progressively, beginning on 25 July 2024