Electricity Meter Reading Facts For Aussie Homes

Are you concerned about aspects of your electricity meter's reading, or billing?

If you are not sure of who reads your electricity meter, or when your electricity bill can be estimated, then read on.

Listed are some basic facts about electricity meter reading, for all Aussie householders. The following information was sourced from the Energy & Water Ombudsman NSW.

For contact information of the ENERGY OMBUDSMAN in your State, visit our website.

• An ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTOR is responsible for the testing / replacement of your electricity meter.
• The distributor reads the meter and then forwards the information to the ELECTRICITY RETAILER.
• According to the Electricity Supply Act 1995 (Section 55) & Gas Supply Act 1996 (Section 56) an electricity distributor has the right to enter a customer's property, to read the meter without prior notice or consent. 
• The electricity distributor can estimate any period of up to 6 months between readings. Regulation states there must be a reading, at least every six months. The estimated reading must be noted as 'estimated' and clearly shown on the electricity bill.
•  The householder has the choice of paying the estimated amount, or an amount determined by the electricity retailer. After a customer receives an account based on an estimated reading, a retailer may agree to accept a customer’s reading of their own meter. This will be considered an actual read. 
• Where access is constantly an issue for the purpose of reading the meter, a request for a 'special reading', can be made. The householder may be charged for this service. This same service can be used in the case of questionable meter readings.
• The difference a meter can vary for under or over billing, is no more than 2%.
• Historical billing data can be asked by the householder without charge, for periods of up to 2 years.

Visit our AUSSIE HOME ELECTRICITY webpage to learn more about your home's power supply, metering and billing.

Aussie Home Electricity Bill Errors

Is It Possible For Your Home Electricity Bill To Be At Error?

Like any other bill, the home electricity bill can also suffer from errors. Therefore it always pays, to have at least an understanding of how the electricity bill is compiled.

Not performing the electricity bill check, before paying, could mean you are going to be out of pocket!

Here are two errors in home electricity billing, that we have discovered in the last six months. Both of these errors became apparent, when the bill was inspected for accuracy, at the conclusion on a HOME ELECTRICITY AUDIT, or home energy assessment.

For one householder the error was advantageous, as there was a considerable credit due, from the electricity provider.

The two errors are as follows:

• No Off-Peak Electricity Recorded - This home uses electric hot water. The error occurred when the client transferred over from one provider to another. Out of the two providers, one did not transfer the hot water usage to an off-peak tariff. Thus the client was awarded a large credit due to the over charging of the hot water usage, having being charged at the on-peak rate

• No On-Peak Electricity Recorded - A couple of elderly clients, who have only ever paid for off-peak hot water and a service charge. Being in their home for just over 18 months, they were not aware of the electricity bills makeup. There was simply, no on-peak usage recorded on the bill. Nor noted by the electricity provider via the meter reader. A new meter had been installed prior to purchase of the home

Both of the above errors occurred over a period of one and a half years, with meters being read on a quarterly basis. What the above shows is this:

• Home electricity bill errors do occur
• It pays to understand your electricity bill

Recently we are becoming more aware of more Aussie homes with errors with smart meters. If you are a householder with errors due to smart meter, please leave your comments on this blog post. For more examples see our ELECTRICITY BILL ERRORS page.

If you do not fully understand youR home electricity bill, then contact Aussie Home Energy for information on their range of ELECTRICITY SAVING SERVICES.